


Log On

by Windwolf0097



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Gaming, Gen, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2017-12-25 00:07:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 54,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/946321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windwolf0097/pseuds/Windwolf0097
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is a dedicated gamer, and he prides himself on his ascent from Bronze League Hero to a competitive player. What will he do, however, when a chance encounter with one of the world's top gamers flips his life entirely? How is he supposed to balance a busy college life with his newfound gaming highlife? Unfortunately for him, there are no walkthroughs on what to do when you fall for someone thousands of miles away from you.</p><p>!!!NOT COMPLETED, DISCONTINUED!!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU, Eren and Armin are 19, Mikasa is 20. All three are college students. Levi is a businessman and keeps his canon age of 34. Erwin works with Levi, and Hange is a scientist. Both are 35.
> 
> Eren's username is ichbinderjaeger  
> Armin's username is armined-and-dangerous  
> Levi's username is Humanitys_Strongest
> 
> Other usernames will be listed as more characters come into the story.
> 
> There are references to real games, and in the future there will probably be fictional games mentioned. A lot of gaming terms are used, if someone requests it I'll put definitions to the more common ones in the notes at the bottom of the chapter.

Sitting at his desk, a college-age male furiously jabs at keys, alternating between clicking frantically and letting his fingers dance across the keyboard like a concert pianist’s. Taking in the situation displayed on screen, he lets out a frustrated growl, grinding his teeth and redoubling his efforts.

_Really, that asshole is trying another canon rush? He managed to wipe half my base last time but now I have extra units and more resources, that’s not going to work again._

Realizing the inexperience of his opponent, our player is able to counterattack, and has his opponent’s base decimated within a few minutes.

 **silentecho:** gg man  
 **ichbinderjaeger:** GG

Sitting back with a smile, the brown haired student closes out the window for Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm and cracks his knuckles, satisfied with his progress for the day. Papers strewn across the desk are headed with the name Eren Jaeger, everything from class notes to finished essays adding to the ridiculous amount of clutter.

Opening Skype, Eren clicks on a contact and types out a message.

 **ichbinderjaeger:** armin you up for some minecraft or are you still studying?  
 **armined-and-dangerous:** I’m still studying, Eren. Finals aren’t that far off, you should be studying too.  
 **ichbinderjaeger:** fine fine whatever  
 **ichbinderjaeger:** ill just hit up the day-z server and see if I can get a car working then  
 **armined-and-dangerous:** When you’re begging me for notes later I’m going to send you those quotes.  
 **ichbinderjaeger:** youre a cruel and fickle creature armin I thought you were my friend  
 **armined-and-dangerous:** I am your friend, just not in favor of continuing your internet addiction. This is an intervention, Eren.  
 **ichbinderjaeger:** I hate you  
 **armined-and-dangerous** ’s status is now **Do Not Disturb**

Grinning despite his friend’s unwillingness to play with him, Eren walked over to his dorm’s mini-fridge, grabbing a bottle of Mountain Dew and making a mental note to pick up more next time he made a food run. After deciding against microwaving some leftover pizza, Eren returned to his trusty desktop and booted up his current favourite game, Day-Z.

Day-Z is a zombie survival mod for Arma II, a military FPS, and it’s one of the greatest things that ever happened to survival games, as far as Eren is concerned. His character has managed to survive for about thirty full hours in this high-difficulty roguelike, and given the fact that players and zombies alike have been trying to kill him from the instant he spawned, that’s one hell of an achievement. As the world loads around him, he realizes two things.

One: Someone else is currently using the camp that he’d set up before logging off last night.

And two: They have a jeep parked next to the tent.

Cars and trucks are common enough on the streets of the abandoned towns scattered across the map, but working vehicles are nearly reduced to fantasy, given that by the time you get even most of the parts that the broken down transports need, you’re going to be killed by players or zombies or the environment. If this guy has a truck, well, he’s been alive quite some time.

Sliding his microphone into place, Eren holds the voice communication key.

“Friendly, friendly, don’t shoot!” He calls, almost frantically. Good thing, too, because the other player who’d decided that Eren’s camp was a wonderful place to call their new home had just returned, probably from the nearby well or a hunting trip.

“This shit yours, kid?” A smooth but somehow accusatory voice replied over the comm., surprising Eren. It was obviously a man’s voice, probably someone in their late twenties. It was almost two in the morning, what was an adult doing playing online games at this hour?

“Yeah, why?” He was starting to get annoyed. Though confronting the well-armed other player was probably a poor choice, if he tried to claim Eren’s campsite as his own, he was going to end up with a grenade in his face.

“Don’t get snippy with me, brat, I was almost going to say it was impressive. How long’ve you been alive?”

The simmering annoyance slowly edged closer to a boil. _Why’s this dickhead calling me a brat? Who does he think he is?_

“Just about thirty hours at this point. What about you?” It was spat as an accusation, wanting desperately to just shoot the other player, mouse finger twitching towards doing just that. Eren never did have the best control over his temper, and while usually he kept it in check playing the games where rude behavior could get you banned, he had problems with brawling in real life and starting fights in more lenient games.

“Oi, I said calm down. I’ve been alive for a little more than nine days, hell if I’m going to let you kill me. I’m pretty well set up here, so either you can deal with me or get going.” The man replied, tone level but somehow managing to sound smug and commanding at the same time.

Eren was very nearly shocked out of his anger at the announcement. Nine days was 216 hours. Considering that it could have been in intervals as small as an hour a day, that’s more than half a year worth of effort, into a character that’ll be permanently gone when it dies.

“I… yeah, alright. Any chance I can get your Steam ID? That’s impressive, to say the least.” If this guy is as good at other games as he is at Day-Z, he might’ve ended up on some high-score leaderboard somewhere.

The man on the comm. scoffed. “Humanity’s strongest, if you really have to know. What, you heard of me?” The cold superiority never left his tone, but there was a hint of amusement now, as if he knew that giving his ID would have some effect, and that he was just waiting for the reaction.

Eren, on the other hand, was stunned into silence. Humanitys_Strongest is the username of an unbelievably famous gamer. Surely this isn’t the same person who won Starcraft II competitions across the world? It was impossible that Eren was gaming with the person who set speedrun records across the gaming spectrum, and found a place on high-score tables and PVP ladders alike, wasn’t it?

“Did you leave to take a dump or something?” The man in question commented after a few moments of prolonged quiet.

“No, uh, sir.” Shit, that was lame. Eren nearly blushed at how awkward his response was. But really, how do you talk to the person who you consider a hero? The person who got you into gaming, to begin with, winning impossible victories on livestreams across the internet?

There was a sound that vaguely resembled a very quiet amused snort. “'Sir', that’s cute. If we’re going to be sharing this camp, though, names would be easier. I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours first.”

“I’m Eren. My ID’s ichbinderjaeger, by the way.”

“Yeah, no, I didn’t ask for that. I’m Levi.” The man, now Levi, said. There was a quiet hum of consideration before he continued, “Eh, I guess I could add you anyway.”

Tilting the mic away from his mouth so he could quietly hyperventilate in private, Eren began grinning like a maniac. He never imagined that he’d meet one of the greatest gamers in recent times, and even giving his ID he never would’ve guessed that this man, Levi, would add him. It was put forward as more of a courtesy, being as that he knew Levi’s ID, but this…

“You keep going quiet, is your ping high or some shit? Because I was going to run into town to see if there were any blood packs, and I don’t really care if you tag along, but if you’re going to lag us both to death that’s out.”

“No-“ Eren started before realizing that the mic was still away from his mouth, “No, I’m just multitasking a little.” Freaking out and playing a game at the same time is multitasking, right?

The eyeroll could be heard in Levi’s voice. “Put your dick back in your pants and get in the damn car, brat.”

Eren maneuvered into the passenger side of the jeep, somewhere between offended and embarrassed at Levi’s accusation. If that was what it was, anyway, the man seemed to have a rather crude way of speaking.

Driving into town, the clock quickly approaching three in the morning, Eren’s only thought was that he was glad Armin was studying, otherwise he would’ve missed this opportunity.


	2. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes to class, and meets some friends of Levi's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanji's username is humanparadox  
> Erwin's username is Wings_of_Freedom
> 
> The game they play is Garry's Mod, which is a creative game available on Steam. Depending on the server you go on, you can build things, play like an ordinary FPS, play on obstacle courses, or, like our quartet, play zombie survival modes. It's really great, I enjoy it.
> 
> It's early November in the story, and the students are at a (nonexistent) college in northern New York.  
> The students run on Eastern Standard Time, while Hanji runs on Central and Levi and Erwin are in Pacific.

Eren groaned and rubbed his eyes, glaring with annoyance at the violently screeching alarm clock on his bedside table. Yawning and rolling over to punch the offending object that was so proudly displaying the numbers 7:00, Eren huffed out a sigh and extracted himself from the covers twined around his waist. Although class didn’t start until 9, and Professor Hannes would’ve emailed him the notes if he had decided not to show up, Eren had made a promise to Mikasa that he’d go to breakfast with her whenever their schedules allowed. Unfortunately for Eren, Mikasa’s first class begins at 8:30, so he had to wake up a good deal earlier than he normally would.

_Why am I so tired? I know I was gaming for a while but I’m usually asleep by two…_

Deciding that whatever happened after midnight could wait to be remembered until after coffee, Eren made his way towards his dorm’s communal bathroom, thankful that there were few enough people that the showers and toilets remained clean, for the most part, and that it was rather uncommon for all the sinks or stalls to be occupied.

A tall black haired boy with freckles stood in front of one of the mirrors, clad in a pair of blue jeans and a rather flattering white sweatervest worn over a dark gray collared shirt. Brushing his teeth with one hand and holding a phone in the other, he noticed Eren and turned to him with a small wave.

“Morning Eren!” He said cheerily, talking around his toothbrush.

“Morning, Marco. How’s it going?” Eren replied. Of all the people to interact with in the mornings, Marco was by far one of the most pleasant. Eren didn’t know if the other student was just naturally a morning person, or if he managed to caffeinate before everyone else woke up, but Marco was always in a sunny mood. Compared to Jean Kirstien, Marco was a freckled Jesus. Actually, anyone compared to that asshole was a saint.

Said saint took a moment to spit toothpaste foam into the sink and rinse his mouth before replying.

“Good. Really good, actually. The photography club is heading out into the mountains over Thanksgiving break, we finally got that trip approved, and I’m really excited about the wildlife we’re going to see! Well, hopefully see, anyway. What about you? You look tired.” He beamed, only curbing his enthusiasm about the trip to sound concerned at the end.

“Late night, you know how it goes.” Eren replied with a smile, setting to work brushing his teeth.

“Yeah, I know the feeling. Have a good day, Jaeger!”

“You too,” Eren responded before Marco shuffled off, probably headed to one of the food places scattered around campus for a quick bite before class. 

Checking his phone to make sure he was still running on schedule, Eren finished his hygienics for the morning and trekked back to his room to get properly dressed and to retrieve his notebooks for class. Not that he usually took notes, but it was always nice to have some paper available to doodle on if the professor’s droning was particularly boring.

Pulling on the cleanest pair of jeans from off his floor and grabbing a black sweatshirt emblazoned with wings, one black and one white, Eren shoved a pair of gloves in his pocket and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder. Bracing himself for the cold of an early November morning in northern New York state, he made his way to the IHOP located just off campus.

Taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings, Eren narrowed his turquoise eyes against the bright glare reflecting off the thin sheet of snow covering the ground, already beginning to melt in the strengthening sunlight. The trees lining the concrete path swayed gently in the wind, leafless branches reaching like clawed hands towards the source of warmth, small clumps of sticky slush plopping to the ground occasionally whenever the breeze picked up.

_Huh, I didn’t even know it snowed last night._

Reaching his destination slightly earlier than he’d intended, he nabbed a table for Mikasa and himself and ordered a coffee to sip on while he waited for her.

Mikasa, never one to be late, showed up at precisely 7:45 and sat down across from him.

“Good morning, Eren, you’re surprisingly on time today.” She said, a slight smile taking any insult out of the dig at his tendency to be late in the mornings. “I’m actually pretty shocked; Armin said you were still online when he went to bed at two.”

Thinking back to his late night escapades, Eren nearly spat out his coffee.

_That’s right, I was playing Day-Z with Humanitys_Strongest! Holy shit, how did I manage to forget something like that? Dude, I have to tell Armin about that, he’ll never believe me. I wonder if Levi added me to his friends list yet? I really hope we’ll get to play something together, again. Is he even online every day?_

“Hello? Earth to Eren Jaeger,” Mikasa said, waving her hand in front of Eren’s face. “Eren, Sasha asked what you were ordering.”

Most of the establishments around the campus were entirely staffed by students. This morning, their waitress was Sasha Braus, a rather eccentric girl that Eren knew rather vaguely, but Mikasa occasionally spent time with. He was friends with Connie Springer, however, who lived in his dorm and just recently started dating Sasha.

“Oh, what? Sorry, I’ll have the four-stack with a side of bacon,” Eren chuckled awkwardly, “I’m not quite caffeinated yet.”

Mikasa looked at him skeptically. “You zone out a lot when you have other things on your mind, what’s up?” Her tone was worried, her mother-hen nature still not quite gone despite the fact that they were in college now.

“I was thinking about playing Day-Z, I found this really great player last night and we did some town raids, killed a few dozen zombies. I was wondering if he was going to be back online, I didn’t really get a chance to ask him anything.”

“What was his username?” Eren was surprised at her question. Though Mikasa did occasionally game with him, she preferred the puzzlers that infuriated Eren and so they rarely talked about their virtual adventures.

“You’re not gonna believe me, but it was Humanity’s Strongest. His name’s actually Levi, though.”

“You’re bullshitting me, no way you actually met the most famous gamer in the nation.”

“Swear on my 400 hours of Skyrim I did.”

That seemed to be enough proof for Mikasa, because her face went from incredulous to happy, with a slight hint of jealousy.

“That’s great, Eren. Think if you mailed him something he’d sign it for you? I know you have this weird hero worship thing going on.” She teased.

“Oh, shut up. He told me his name, not his address.” Eren stuck out his tongue, making a face at the thought of actually asking Levi to sign something. It’d probably come back signed to “brat,” anyway.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of breakfast going rather smoothly despite his growing distraction, Eren walked Mikasa to the building where her class was, on the edge of campus. Waving goodbye and wishing her a good day, Eren pulled out his phone and began texting Armin about what had occurred the night before.

 **EJ** : hey armin you’ll never guess who I was playing day z with last night  
 **AA** : Oh, someone was actually online with you? Who?  
 **EJ** : humanitys strongest, dude  
 **AA** : Haha, yeah, and I was driving my new Porsche around with Beyonce.  
 **EJ** : im not kidding I was actually playing with him  
 **AA** : Next time I have free  time I’m coming over to your room and you’re showing me your friends list, then.  
 **EJ** : fine then youll just see that im telling the truth

Before further conversation could take place, Eren managed to find the single patch of unmelted black ice on the path to his first class and ended up flat on his ass, cursing and flailing as other students passed by. Some were laughing, others were too caught up in their own heads or distracted by their phones to notice, but none made a move to help him up.

_Alright, probably shouldn’t text and walk at the same time when it’s icy out…_

Standing and brushing off the back of his pants, Eren continued on as if nothing happened, readjusting his bag and walking along the path, looking down occasionally to ensure that he wouldn’t repeat the incident.

Though the campus wasn’t terribly large, especially compared to a good majority of other colleges, it still took Eren nearly ten minutes to cross it to the building where his first two classes were, and he walked into psychology only a few minutes before nine.

Psychology was taught by Professor Hannes, a kind man in his early forties who Eren got along rather well with, despite his generally combative personality. As a teacher for one of the prerequisite classes, Hannes realized that a good deal of the students weren’t there because they were passionate about the topic, and avoided giving homework and in-class tests. Because all the tests were take-home, and you could use the book, it was almost impossible to do badly in the class, something Eren appreciated, as it allowed him to concentrate more on his more difficult classes.

Not even ten minutes into the lecture, Eren found himself zoning out, thinking about what he would rather be doing. He could be eating. Or he could be in the student’s athletic center, running on the treadmill or lifting weights. There was an indoor pool, he could even be swimming. Or, y’know, he could just sit in his dorm room and play video games. Mikasa kept bothering him to finish Portal, even though last time he’d tried to play his way through the game he’d broken his keyboard in frustration. Mikasa, who was sitting next to him at the time, just sighed and got a broom, sweeping the broken pieces out from under the desk as Eren tried to stop angrily shouting at the turrets that had been his demise yet again.

_I wonder if Levi ever ragequits. And what other kinds of games does he play? He played Day-Z with me, and I know he’s won MLG Starcraft tournaments, but what about creative games like Minecraft? I bet he’d be really good at quick paced games like Super Hexagon or The Impossible Game._

Eren smiled at the idea of Levi getting really involved in an RPG like Skyrim. He didn’t seem like the type to get really drawn into a game with that much lore. Then again, Eren considered, he didn’t even really know Levi. A couple hours worth of gaming and insults wasn’t enough to learn much about him other than that he was inhumanly good at FPS-style games, and that his vulgar sense of humour was a grating contradiction against how smooth his voice was.

Letting his mind continue wandering, Eren spent the rest of class focused entirely on getting back to his computer and picking up where he left off yesterday. He couldn’t suppress a faint twinge of nervousness, however, remembering that Levi hadn’t yet added him to his friends list. Had he only said that to appease Eren?

Tuning back into reality just in time to be dismissed, Eren quickly walked to his next class. Sighing heavily, he prepared himself for another four hours of ignoring professors before he could get back to his vices.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Grinning around a reheated slice of pizza, Eren finally logged onto his precious desktop, heart beating just a little faster in anticipation. At eight o’clock in the evening, he had hours on end to play whatever he wanted to. Opening Steam to examine his friends list, he couldn’t contain the ecstatic grin that claimed his face when he saw Levi’s username there. Only slightly disappointed by the offline status, Eren booted up Skyrim, more than happy to be swallowed by the Elder Scrolls universe until someone became available to play something multiplayer with him.

It was nearly 10:30 by the time Eren’s Steam chat window opened, and he’d long since abandoned serious questing in favor of fus ro dah-ing cabbages off the highest point of the Throat of the World.

 **humanitys_ strongest:** Hey shitty brat are you there  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : hey levi yeah im here  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Want  to meet a couple more people for you to hero worship  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : hell yeah I do who is it?  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Two of the people in my guild humanparadox and wings_of_freedom I’m sure you’ve seen the usernames before but their names are Hanji and Erwin  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Oh and you have teamspeak right  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Because I’m not dealing with your dumb fucking ventrilo or whatever  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : yeah of course im ichbinderjaeger over there too  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Give me a mo’ I’ll invite you to the chat

Eren sat, nearly vibrating with excitement. Humanparadox, apparently Hanji, was another famous Starcraft player. Wings_of_Freedom was a massively well-known Guildwars player, and though Eren was less familiar with the genre, he knew that recognition was rather difficult to acquire in MMORPGs unless you were exceptionally fantastic at PvP.

The ringing from teamspeak indicated that he was being invited to a chat, and he nearly missed the button to answer in his excitement. Before he could even say hello, he was interrupted by an excited female voice.

“Hey Eren! It’s nice to meet you, I’m Hanji! Well, you might know me as human paradox, but that’s beside the point. I heard you were playing Day-Z with Levi yesterday? He said you weren’t half bad at it, that’s a really impressive-“

“Shut up, you excitable freak.” Levi’s annoyed tone cut off what seemed to be on its way to a full blown rant.

“You’re no fun at all. Anyway, I’m just going to let you know that I’m not on as often as Levi because work pulls me away at pretty random intervals, but if you ever want to play Gmod or something with me, I’d be happy to.”

A third voice, deep and clear, filled the chat.

“It’s nice to meet you, Eren, I’m Erwin. Generally, I’m not online that often during the work week, but occasionally I can be cajoled into playing something with Levi and Hanji.” Erwin seemed to be a man of relatively few words. Eren was almost grateful for that, thinking that he couldn’t handle two people as enthusiastic as Hanji.

“It’s really great to meet you guys, too. What are we playing tonight, by the way?”

“Eh, Hanji found a zombie survival server on Garry’s Mod and since I mentioned I’d been playing Day-Z she thought it’d be an excellent time to annoy the piss out of me and demand that we try it out.” Every word was said entirely seriously, enough so that Eren wondered if Levi and Hanji were even friends.

“Come on, I know you like games like this. You even admitted that the spacebuild server was fun!”

“I said it was tolerable until you started pretending that it was the Starship Enterprise, fuckface.”

“It’s called role playing, and it makes the game a ton more fun. Besides, you weren’t complaining when I was calling you captain.”

Erwin chuckled before interrupting the two. “So, are we actually going to play tonight, or are you just going to argue about whether or not you like the game?”

With an irritated grumble from Levi and a laugh from Hanji, the invitation to the server was sent out, and all four players were placed in observation mode while they waited for the current round to end.

“This server uses the Counter Strike Source engine, so if you’ve ever played that you already know how the weapons handle. At the start of every round, one random player is turned into a zombie. The rest of the players have to kill them, but there’s a twist. If you get hit by the zombie, you become a zombie as well. The zeds have a lot more health than the human players, and it’s actually pretty hard to survive.  You can drag couches and vending machines around, so you can make barriers, and the maps usually have a lot of places to hide. It’s awesome!” Hanji explained as we oversaw the game.

“How do the humans win, if the zombies have so much more health?” Eren asked, happy to know that it was basically zombie Counter Strike. He was decent enough at first person shooters, he would probably manage not to embarrass himself in front of these elite gamers.

“Well, if all the zombies die, the humans win. Or if there’s a human still alive when the round timer hits zero, then the humans win too. Just so you know, the zombies usually win.” She seemed oddly cheery about that, considering that unless you started as the zombie, that meant losing.

Eren was about to ask a question about just how long the rounds were, but he was distracted by the fact that the round had ended, and that he was now playing as a human in a world that was very quickly going to be infested by zombies.

“Guys? Are you alright? Oh god, we need to find somewhere to hide, we need. We need ammo and shelter, come on!” The frightened and shaky tone that came across teamspeak confused Eren, and it took a moment for him to realize that Hanji had begun roleplaying.

“Could you wait even five minutes before you started being obnoxious? Five goddamn minutes?”

“It’s alright Hanji, I’ve got your back. We’re going to make it out of this alive, I promise you.” Erwin replied, ignoring Levi. It seemed strange that, not only were adults who apparently had actual jobs playing a zombie shooting game, but they were also roleplaying while doing it.

“No, no, don’t you start. Quit encouraging her, Erwin.” Levi growled out. Eren almost laughed  out loud, stopping himself after realizing that he’d probably be on the receiving end of the man’s barbed insults if he did.

The quartet made their way into the nearest building, which seemed easily defensible. Filing into what appeared to be an office break room, they set about blocking the entrance with the vending machines and couch that the room contained.

“Eren? Eren are you alright, you’re being so quiet…” Hanji murmured, her character temporarily stopping its attempts to barricade the door with a vending machine to turn towards him.

“Yeah, I’m… I’m alright, just scared. How are you keeping so calm?” At the sound of gunshots on the other side of the wall, Eren faked a startled yelp and assisted Hanji in moving the vending machine.

There was the sound of a muffled, high-pitched squeal as she realized that Eren was playing along with her, accompanied by what could only be a groan from Levi.

“I fucking hate you guys.”

“You’d have more fun if you played along too,” Erwin stage-whispered into his mic, taking up position at one of the two unblockable windows to the room.

As Hanji stood at the other, there was a crash as the glass in front of Erwin shattered, an undead hand clawing at the air as it was pumped full of bullets. Opening the menu, Eren saw that they were the last four humans alive. They were only up against three zombies, but if one of them turned inside the small space, it’d be an easy victory for the other team. Hanji, with help from Levi and Eren, disposed of the attacker.

“Nice work, guys. We’re going to make it through this, we can do this,” Erwin assured, falling back into character as easily as he’d broken out.

The other pane of glass broke with a crash, and Hanji let out a “terrified” scream.

“I, guys, I’ve been…  I feel kinda…” The statement was followed by a gurgling moan, a damn impressive undead noise for someone acting for fun.

Falling into the back corner furthest from the window where Hanji and the other zombie stood, the remaining three human players filled the air with lead, Levi switching from rifle to double pistols as his ammunition ran out.

One of the zeds fell to the floor. Eren was too engrossed in the action, had fallen too far into character, to ask Hanji if it was her. As the remaining zombie met its end, Erwin turned towards Levi and Eren.

“I… I know there’s nothing we could’ve done to save her. If any of us turn, I expect that the others will take them out…” Erwin trailed off, sadness in his voice.

“There’s only one zombie left, though, right? We can still make it through this.” Eren piped up, optimistic despite the emotion choking his tone.

Erwin did not respond. He was withholding the fact that he had no ammunition left, and that when the final zombie found them, that he would be rushing it with only a knife to defend him.

There was no shattering of glass to serve as a warning when the final grotesque creature shambled through the open space where the window used to be. Not alerting his teammates to his plan, Erwin charged the zombie, knife in hand.

“Erwin, what the fuck, no!” Levi shouted as his friend was turned into a mindless monster, intent on killing the two people who had been his teammates moments before. “Eren, get behind me. Seriously, we’re going to get out of this alive. Right, brat?” He said between clenched teeth, rapidly firing his pistols at the two enemies.

“Yeah. Yeah, we can survive, Levi. We’ll make it out of here.” Firing the last rounds from his shotgun and killing one of the beasts, Eren switched to his single pistol and attempted to help Levi finish off the last opponent.

“Shit.” Using the last of his ammunition, Levi pulled out a knife, pressed to the same last resort as Erwin had been. “I’m not going to let you die, Eren. Cover me.” Charging ahead, he made a swipe with his blade, letting out a slew of curses as he missed.

Getting a clear shot as Levi dodged a hit, Eren shot the zombie twice in the head, letting out a sigh of relief when it fell to the floor, entirely dead.

“We did it, Levi. We survived.” There was a sigh of relief, tinged with sadness for his fallen comrades.

“Yeah… I guess we did. Let’s just get out of here. We need to get someplace where there’s a better supply of food.”

The conversation would’ve continued, but the next round started and pulled them both back to reality.

“Oh my god, Levi, did you play along with us? You did! You totally did!” Hanji sounded like she’s witnessed a miracle. “Eren, you have to play with us more often, Levi actually played in character because of you!”

“Oh shut it, shitty glasses. You ruined it, I’m done.”

“But Levi,” she whined, stretching out the ‘I’ sound, “You were having fun, admit it.”

“You know what I’ll admit is fun? Kicking your ass. Kicking your ass is fun.”

Listening to the growing argument, Eren grinned broadly. That game had been the most fun he’d had in a long while, he would have to mention roleplaying to Armin next time they sat down to play together.

Even though Levi refused to play in character for the rest of the night, it was still an enjoyable experience to play with his new friends, and his eyes stung with exhaustion by the time he said goodnight to everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up about twice as long as the first one. I'm beyond thankful for all the positive feedback I've gotten, you guys are great. I'm debating whether or not to make the next chapter focused on Levi, our businessman-insomniac-gamer extraordinaire, so if you'd like to see that, please say so in the comments! Just ugh, really, you're all fantastic.
> 
> A couple of you asked if I was a gamer, and the answer is yes. I usually play singleplayer games, like Skyrim or Minecraft, but I do dabble in FPSes and RTSes occasionally. I'm also a particular fan of Diablo- or Torchlight-style games.
> 
> Also, for any of you wanting to get in contact with me, I'm windwolf0097 on tumblr and skype, as well. Feel free to send me messages! I track my tag, if any of you lovely folks want me to see something.


	3. Office Warfare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's day at the office, dealing with deranged coworkers, and finally getting home to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this chapter is from Levi's point of view.
> 
> All of squad Levi except Hanji works at Trost Chemical and Innovation. Coffee-Girl isn't a snk character, and will likely enough not make another appearance. (unless you folks like her, of course)

The alarm clock, bright blue numbers glaring on their black background, had no hope of ever going off before Levi was awake. Rolling over, the man glared at the device as if it was the reason for all his problems. Giving a disgruntled huff he stood up, rolling his shoulders and cracking his back. The clock had said 4:27, which was less than two hours since Levi had gone to bed.

_Goddamn computer games, keeping me up until asscrack A.M._

Of course, Levi knew it wasn’t the gaming that kept him from grabbing more than four hours of sleep a night. For someone who worked as much as he did, though, not resting as long just meant that there were more hours a day to get something productive done, compared to the lucky bastards that managed to nab eight hours a night.

Fighting back a yawn, Levi straightened the comforter draped across his bed, fixing and flattening the blankets until they were military-neat. Not even bothering to turn on the lights to make his way through the small apartment, he walked into the bathroom to begin his daily routine.

Finally bothering with a light switch, Levi scowled into the mirror. The dark circles surrounding his eyes grew worse every day, and as he washed his face, he scrubbed aggressively at them as if it’d make them magically disappear. Deeming his face clean enough, the black-haired man stripped off his nightclothes, folding them carefully before stepping into the shower, turning the ‘hot’ dial all the way up before pressing the panel that turned on the waterfall shower head.

Showering was the best part of the day. Not only was it one of the few activities that one could perform that would make them cleaner rather than dirtier, but Levi loved how there was nothing to stress about while bathing. There was no paperwork, no managers to deal with, no internet assholes cursing at him, nobody challenging him to a test of skill (only to get their asses handed to them), and no overly-adoring fans.

Though, he considered after a moment, the kid he’d been gaming with for the past two nights wasn’t all bad. Eren had been able to pull his weight as part of a team, and he wasn’t offended by Levi’s crude humour. He even shot sarcastic remarks back at him, once he was more comfortable with Levi.  No, he mused, Eren was alright. After the initial fawning, the student had realized that he was just an ordinary person, even if he was exceptionally good at gaming.

Leisurely washing and humming some nameless tune, Levi took his time to methodically clean every part of himself, internally timing how long it would take for the hot water to start running out. Even in an expensive upper-class apartment, the water pressure still sucked ass, and the heaters only provided about twenty minutes worth of truly hot water before it attempted to start a second ice age.

Figuring he’d save preserving himself in ice for a more desperate day, Levi stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist before hoisting himself up on the counter to blowdry his hair. The short, soft strands were acceptably moisture-free in no time, and he took a moment to part them neatly with a comb before hopping down once more.

Glancing at the sleekly modern wall clock on his way back to his bedroom, Levi noted that it wasn’t even five in the morning yet. He took a moment to pick up his phone, unlocking it and opening a weather app.

_Hm, 60 degrees isn’t that bad. It’s going to be sunny today, too, maybe I’ll bike to work, save some gas._

With that thought in mind, Levi slid open his closet and browsed the clothes available to him, deciding on a white button-up shirt and dark gray slacks that were custom fit for his… petite form. Levi was not short. No, and if you were bold enough to suggest so to his face, it was relatively likely that you’d end up kneecapped by the end of the week. Not that he had any mafia contacts…

Meandering into the small kitchen, he set a kettle of water on the stove to boil. If you were going to have tea, you should do it the right way. None of that dumbshit teabag and boiling water from a water cooler stuff. Shoving a bagel into the toaster while he waited for the first dose of caffeine, Levi took a moment to locate his shoes and jacket before sitting down to a quick breakfast.

Despite the fact that he didn’t need to be to work until seven, he decided that he’d get to the office early. Considering that there was always someone in the building, due to the night-shifted electrical engineers that constantly tinkered away at their solar panels or whatever the hell they were on about this week, there wouldn’t be a problem with him getting there slightly before schedule anyway.

Finalizing his decision on what transportation to take, Levi grabbed a set of keys off a hook on the outside of a kitchen cabinet, slipping on the tight-fitting leather jacket that he’d retrieved and zipping it up as he walked towards his front door, pausing to grab a sleek black helmet out of the front hall closet before continuing out of his apartment, locking the door behind him.

A short walk down the two flights of stairs separating Levi’s apartment from the private parking garage under his building complex revealed a multitude of luxury vehicles. A bright red Porsche 9-11 was parked next to a stunningly pristine white Audi R8. A line of BMWs was framed on either side by a Ferrari. Three spots, slightly away from the others, had signs on the wall claiming them as Levi’s personal parking spaces. In the first rested a shining silver Porsche 918 spyder. Beside it was parked a black Mercedes SL65 AMG, glistening even in the dim garage lighting. Finally, in the third space, stood a black Ducati 1098 racing motorcycle, which Levi walked up to. After pulling on a pair of leather gloves and fitting the helmet on his head, he affectionately ran a hand along the side of the bike, feeling over the glossy ebony paint job before putting the key in the ignition and kickstarting the vehicle, relishing in the dangerous purr that resonated from the engine.

Tearing out of the parking garage like only someone with many years’ worth of motorcycle experience can, Levi made a sharp turn and rocketed down the road towards the parkway. Weaving between the early morning rush hour traffic, he earned quite a few angry honks. One particularly angry commuter swerved towards him, Levi speeding up to pass him before falling into the lane next to him and flipping him off with both hands, controlling the bike with only his legs.

The man may have made another aggressive move, but Levi wasn’t going to give him the chance.  Riding on the dotted line between the zooming cars, he made it to his workplace. Trost Chemical and Innovation was an international company dedicated to the processing of fossil fuels, and research into green energies. Though Levi wasn’t a chemist, they employed a large number of paper-pushers, to keep records and data organized, to convince companies that their efforts were worth funding, and to keep on top of the consumer trends to see what products might be successful if they were put into market.

All in all, it was a fucking boring job, and Levi would’ve quit if it hadn’t been for Erwin reminding him that not only did it pay ridiculously well, but it was one of the only jobs he might ever find that accepted his ‘celebrity-gamer’ status as an excuse for days off for tournaments. Plus, he had tacked on at the end, Levi had met Hanji through the research branch of the company, and without their chance encounter the Survey Corps may never have been founded.

Pulling up to the entrance of the facility, Levi took off his helmet and dismounted the bike, handing it over to the valet and wishing him a good morning. The taller blonde man gave him an inquisitive sniff before returning the greeting and driving the motorcycle over to the indoor parking.

Levi entered the building, shucking his jacket and gloves, carrying them into the elevator and hitting the button for his floor. Waiting patiently as the terrible music from the radio assaulted his ears, he was finally released from his cell with a pleasant ‘ding,’ the doors sliding open.

The office was sparsely furnished, the employees’ desks and a single dying ficus in the corner by the water cooler being the only objects in the room. Only one person managed to be in the office before Levi himself, a young brunette woman whom he recognized from research and development. Wandering over to where she was sitting, wondering why she was up in the office portion of the building, Levi realized that she was trembling faintly, typing at inhuman speed. Hearing him approach, she whirled around, clutching a pot of coffee to her chest.

Ah. Coffee. The science team fought like rabid animals over the stuff, unless you kept a close eye on your cup it was bound to go missing. As time went on, people began adding disgusting flavours to their coffee, pouring salt or maple syrup and even on one occasion, mustard, into their drink in attempts to stop the others from pilfering it. It didn’t work.

The woman glared at Levi, staring him down before finally slumping her shoulders as if admitting defeat.

“I’ll give you a cup of coffee if you don’t tell them I’m up here.”

Levi was about to decline and send her ass straight back downstairs, but the scent of coffee, coupled with its sudden availability was enough of a bribe that he didn’t tell her to leave. Walking across the room to grab his cup off his desk (he always kept a clean mug around for whenever he needed caffeine to keep him going), Levi accepted the drink.

“Oh, oh, it doesn’t need any sugar, by the way. It’s got sugar. There’s sugar in that already yep sugar.”

With that added comment, Levi took a long sniff of the liquid now in his cup to ensure that it didn’t contain anything that smelled chemical. Cocaine had never been an office problem, as far as he knew, but he’d just accepted coffee from someone who was practically vibrating…

Holding the cup at the top by the tips of his fingers and tilting it back, he took a long swig of the hot coffee, pleasantly surprised at the strength and quality. It was a nice brand of coffee beans, he mused.

“What the fuck. How the fuck are you holding your cup you don’t drink like that. Who drinks like that.” Coffee-girl piped up, staring at him in confusion.

Levi ignored her in favor of walking over to his desk, starting up his computer to clock in. Honestly, he didn’t care what anyone in the office thought of him, so making a good impression on the strange creature hoarding coffee in the corner hadn’t crossed his mind. Most of the other employees were frightened of him, in some way or another. He was told that he was unapproachable, even frightening. Luckily for him, Erwin was the manager, and so the only employees on his floor were the elite paper-pushers who got along with him. The CEO affectionately called them “Squad Levi,” and they were legends for how much paperwork they could handle, even on a deadline.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

It wasn’t until late in the day that he noticed that anything was amiss. It wasn’t an obvious problem, in fact, if he hadn’t needed a paperclip at that moment, Levi never would’ve known that the once full box was now entirely empty. He knew he didn’t use all his paperclips. Which meant…

“Who the fuck took my paperclips.” His tone cut out across the office, level and icy, and everyone froze in what they were doing.

A few faces turned away, some looked guilty, some overly innocent.

He sighed. Fine, fine, if they wanted his paperclips, that was fine. They could’ve left like, two though.

“I need a paperclip.”

Auruo Bossard, the bastard, lifted a mini-crossbow made of dissected ballpoint pens and a rubber band, and shot a paperclip across the room, and onto Levi’s desk.

He realized his error too late, evidently, as after calmly sliding the clip onto a stack of papers, Levi stood up and crossed the room. Very slowly retrieving a rubber band from the collection of supplies on Auruo’s desk, he stretched it as far as it would, releasing it and letting it slap against the man’s neck, the sharp sound ringing loud in the office that had gone silent.

Leaving Auruo to regret his decisions, Levi turned to rest of his ‘squad’ and announced:

“I’m leaving you childish fucks to take a smoke break. When I get back, there better be a full box of paperclips on my desk.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

It was a bad choice. It was a terrible choice. This was why Erwin was the manager, and not Levi. Levi had left them alone, even after seeing that they knew how to make weapons. He had left them alone in an office full of ammo and breakable objects.

The desks were placed on their sides to serve as barriers, and the computer towers were stacked up along the sides, cables tangling into an OCD nightmare. Broken and whole rubber bands littered the floor, papers and paperclips strewn about like bodies on a battlefield. A broken mug had been haphazardly swept into a corner, and the ficus had what appeared to be orange juice dripping down its stem. Levi’s desk stood alone, like a beacon of hope, entirely untouched. There was a full box of paper clips under a post-it note that said ‘sorry’ in terrible handwriting sitting in the middle of his neat stacks of paperwork.

Levi looked to the faces of every single coworker, fixing them with a stare that was entirely emotionless. It wasn’t angry, or disappointed, or upset in any way. It was empty, emptier than any of them had ever seen on a person, and it was terrifying.

Gracefully walking to his desk, he checked the time.

_I’ve put in almost twelve hours today. I am leaving._

Clocking out, he shut down his computer, grabbed his helmet, jacket, and gloves from under his desk. Walking over to the door once more, he looked back into the room and pinned everyone to the floor with his gaze once again.

“Tomorrow, this will be clean. To my standards.” The continued emptiness showed just how furious Levi was, and a few of the employees cowering actually saluted.

Levi left, grateful to have taken his motorcycle, and sped across the cooling asphalt towards home. He relished in the freedom that two wheels provided him, and allowed his strained temper to cool as he approached the parking garage.

He stomped up the stairs just to relieve that little part of his conscious that demanded a violent outlet to the annoyance that was still writhing behind his eyes, building into a headache. He needed an outlet. He needed to yell at someone, or to clean something.

Booting up his high-end desktop, he put his headphones around his neck, tilting the microphone to rest in front of his mouth.

_Please be online, shitty brat._

It was one of the first times that Levi had ever _craved_ a single person’s presence. He hated to admit it, but it was easier to drop the façade for Eren. Even though he rarely roleplayed with Erwin and Hanji, feeling too awkward acting like someone he wasn’t, it had felt natural to play into the scenario when it came to protecting the kid. It was almost freeing, in a strange way. He didn’t want to think too deeply about why he was more able to open up to this stranger, one that he’d never laid eyes on, then to his most trusted friends.

He tacked it down to the anonymity and opened Skype, typing in ‘ichbinderjaeger’ and waiting for the search results to pop up. After sending a contact request, he was pleased to see that it was near instantaneously accepted.

Before he was even able to click the ‘call’ button, his speakers blared the obnoxious ringtone telling him that Eren had already taken it upon himself to start the conversation.

Picking up, Levi answered with “Oi, Jaeger, did I say that I wanted to talk to you?”

“Oh, I- I figured that… wait, how do you know my last name? I never told you that.” The stuttered reply came. He sounded defensive, almost angry. What, did he think Levi was stalking him or something?

Levi cradled his head between his hands.

“Your username is Ich bin der Jaeger, you dumbass. I didn’t know that was your last name, I figured it was a nickname.”

“Oh yeah, I guess it is. Whoops!” Eren laughed, apologetic. “So, what are we playing tonight? You up for some minecraft?”

“If you have a server, I guess it wouldn’t suck to play with you.”

“Sweet, I’ll have a LAN server set up in like, ten seconds. Can I invite my friend Armin into the chat? He’s really great, other than the fact that he doesn’t believe that I’m talking to you.”

“Do what you want, I’m not your babysitter.” Levi snarked, the insult masking his curiosity. He figured Eren had friends, generally most people did, but seeing as that he hadn’t mentioned anyone over the past couple days Levi had assumed that they didn’t have similar interests to Eren.

With a shuffling sound and a click, a third voice entered the chat.

“Hello? Eren said there was someone he wanted me to talk to?”

Levi almost snorted at the kid’s statement. He had a high pitched voice, almost feminine, that sounded slightly fearful in its hesitance.

“Yeah, hi. What else have you been telling your friends, brat?”

Eren chuckled nervously, “I only told Armin and Mikasa that I’ve been gaming with you. That’s it though. That’s okay, right?”

“Like I said, do what you want.”

“Wait, wait, _you’re_ humanity’s strongest? No way. It’s, uh, it’s an honor to meet you?” The last part of Armin’s interjection was phrased like a question, his boldness quickly tapering out to its normal timid nature.

“Yeah, that’s me. Can we just get in the fucking game? I don’t have all night, and neither do you two.”

“Sorry, here’s the IP for the server.” Eren said, the smile evident in his voice. He pasted the numbers into the chat, and within the minute, the three gamers were in a newly generated world , the square sun just beginning to peek over the horizon.

The trio started collecting supplies in relative silence, Armin too timid to break the ice the way that Hanji and Erwin had the previous night. Levi was comfortable with the lack of talking, but Eren, of course, had to say something.

“So, are we building three separate houses, or one house to be a main base, or are we just holing up for the night and doing exploring tomorrow..?”

There was a fair deal of arguing, some insults thrown back and forth between Levi and Eren, and an Armin that turned out to be rather scary when annoyed, but they decided that the best course of action would to be to build a single shelter, and once they were set up, to expand outwards into fancier buildings.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

By the time that Armin left, pestering Eren that “It’s two in the morning, you can stay up all night talking if you want, but I actually sleep sometimes,” Levi’s headache had left and his sour mood was mostly alleviated.

“So, are you going to sleep too, or are you going to continue wasting my very valuable time?” He said to Eren, internally hoping that at this point the kid would realize that he wasn’t actually complaining.

“Nah, I think I’ll keep bothering you. I get this strange rush of power having monopoly over your time like this, it’s great.”

“Keep your weird control fetishes to yourself. I don’t tell you all my erotic motorcycle fantasies, you can stay quiet about your freaky shit.”

There was silence for a long and slightly awkward moment.

“Uh, was that a… do you…?” Eren mumbled out.

Levi, as little empathy as he possessed, was embarrassed for the kid.

“No, you fucking pervert. If you must pry into my life, I do have a motorcycle, but my dick is kept at a comfortable distance from it at all times.”

“Whoa, really? What kind of bike is it, that’s so cool.” Eren was quick to recover from his awkwardness, or at least quick to try and cover it up.

“She’s a Ducati. Real nice bike, I’ve gotten thousands of very enjoyable miles out of her. What, you suddenly a motorhead?”

“No, not really. I just wanted to be able to google what it looked like. I’m trying to picture what you look like, knowing you ride a bike changed the mental image, is all.”

Levi was almost taken aback. It was such an honest answer, and it genuinely wasn’t what he’d expected.

“Well, if you really have to know…  I have black hair, it’s an undercut, not sure if someone with your IQ knows what that is. My eyes are grey-blue, and I get a lot of comments about the circles around them, because I don’t really sleep much, and the fact that I’ve slept about six hours in the last three days might be why I even bothered to tell you that. I’m not only a gamer, I also run parkour in the seasons where I’m not at risk of slipping on ice and breaking my neck. Congrats, there it is, now tell me what you look like.”

Holding his breath, he waited for Eren’s response. It was strange, telling a stranger these little things, but Levi found he didn’t mind all that much. Maybe he did need to sleep more.

“Uh, well, I have brown hair that’s usually super messy. My sister complains about it all time and, my eyes are a weird color, like, not quite green, not quite blue, but more towards blue? I work out at the student rec center so I’m not totally out of shape… yeah, that’s it.”

“Mm, well, that’s enough personal information given to random strangers for tonight, isn’t it, Eren Jaeger?” Levi quipped, reminding Eren that he’d accidentally given out his last name. “I’m going to go stare at the wall pretending to sleep for a while. Try not to involve me in your creepy hormonal dreams. Night.”

With a very slight smile, Levi listened to Eren splutter as he ended the call. Turning off his computer, he went to brush his teeth for bed, actually tired for once in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much, you are just beyond wonderful. Hope everyone noticed that the Ereri train is finally leaving the station. 
> 
> On another note, any of you who know your cars and bikes will realize that, one, Levi is obscenely wealthy (gaming tournaments pay quite a bit to the winners) and that two, he would be completely dwarfed by that bike. A normal sized man looks small on a Ducati racing bike, Levi would look... well, he likes his bike, let's not comment.


	4. Breakfast Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren has a day off to spend with Armin. They try to make breakfast. It was a bad choice.

Eren gripped the shape in front of him, wrapping his arms tightly around it. There was a faint rumble that could be heard over the sound of wind whipping past his head. He felt his hair tangling, the normally messy strands writhing like an eldritch abomination, and he ducked his head lower, turning his face to the side and pressing it to the solid form he clung to. The smell of well-loved leather and gasoline invaded his senses, and he faintly heard a smooth chuckle as a gloved hand stoked his forearm.

Twitching awake, Eren groaned into the pillow that his face was shoved into, wincing with disgust as he felt the drool soaking the fabric smear across his cheek. He took a deep breath, chasing the faint scent of leather that was still present at the edge of his senses, pondering the tingling that lingered on his arm.

Wiping his face on the blankets that had ended up bunched up around him like a cocoon, Eren rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at the clock. Seeing that it was just before noon, the student smiled widely, internally thanking Mikasa for suggesting that he plan all his classes for three days a week, leaving most days completely free. Luckily, Eren and Armin were able to mesh their schedules, for the first marking period at least, and they generally spent a majority of their time in Eren’s dorm room.

Unlike most of the students in his dormitory, Eren had a single room. Despite the perk of not having to share, the downsides were that it was less than half the size of the other rooms, and one of the furthest from the bathrooms. Armin had suggested that it was a closet at one time, but at some point there were too many students for the rooms that were available, and the school had converted it.

As if thinking of the blonde could summon him, there was a quiet knock at the door before Armin invited himself in, laptop bag in tow.

“Oh, you’re actually awake this time. I expected you to sleep in later, considering how long you were online last night.” Armin took a moment to assess the small room before he plopped down on the foot of Eren’s bed. “You don’t clean this place very often, do you?” He teased, gesturing to the steadily growing pile of laundry in one corner, mirrored by the massive stack of papers on the table in the other.

“You don’t have any room to talk. Your room is like, freakishly organized.” Eren grumbled back, considering shoving his head under his pillow, scrapping that idea when he remembered that it was covered in slobber.

“Hey, nothing wrong with being a little neat. Besides, I room with Tomas, he has just as much of a role in keeping the place clean as I do.”

“Maybe if I had a roommate, there wouldn’t be shit all over my floor.”

“If you had a roommate, they would run screaming in terror from all your awful habits.”

“I’m not _that_ bad, come on. I mean, you can still see my floor. That’s better than when we were younger, admit it,” the brunette grinned, proud of his achievement. He was about to continue speaking when his stomach gave a loud grumble, startling both boys.

“Wanna head down to the kitchen and see if we can’t make some pancakes, or something?”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”

Not even bothering to put on actual clothes, Eren slipped on a pair of socks and located where he’d kicked off his shoes yesterday and followed Armin out of the room and down the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time when he reached the stairwell.

“What kind of pancakes are we going to make? You have mix, right?”

The dormitory had three stories, the top two which had rooms, and the bottom floor where the bathroom, lobby, and kitchen were located. The kitchen went largely unused, due to the mini-fridges and microwaves available in individual dorm rooms, but it was open to everyone regardless. Those who did use it labeled their food to avoid any thievery, as there was an unspoken rule that if you didn’t clearly label it as yours, it was fair game.

“Of course I have mix. I wouldn’t have suggested pancakes if I didn’t. Uh, I think I have some apples in the fridge, too, if you want to try to make apple cinnamon pancakes.”

“That sounds delicious, hell yeah we’re having apple cinnamon.”

 

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 

If the road to hell was paved with good intentions, the road to breakfast was paved with pancake batter and fire. Not that the analogy made any sense, but due to the fact that Eren was flailing wildly, covered in dry pancake mix and sticky batter alike, holding a pan that contained something that more closely resembled a hockey puck than anything edible while Armin quietly cried in the corner, it would have to do.

Apple cinnamon had been a good idea, in theory, really it had. Unfortunately for the both of them, neither of them had predicted that attempting to add cinnamon to the pancakes while they were in the pan would cause the gas range to spit up a massive fireball. Eren, who had been holding the handle of the pan at the time, had jumped back, elbowing Armin in the face, which had led to the shorter boy to drop the container of pancake batter on the floor, spraying most of the surroundings with the substance. Eren slid in the mixture and put the pan back on the stove as he was falling, as to have both hands available to break his fall. The pancake still in the pan, which had been almost done to begin with, began smoking in the time that it took for Eren to raise himself up off the floor.

Picking the pan up off the heat once more, Eren had turned the burner off and waved the smoldering pancake around, hoping that the smoke emanating from the food wouldn’t be enough to set off the smoke detector that was glaring at them with its single green light from the far side of the room.

Placing the entire pan in the metal sink, Eren walked over to where Armin curled up on the floor, clutching at his nose. Offering him a hand up, Eren grimaced as he took in the red blotch that covered his friend’s cheek and nose.

“I’m so sorry Armin, I really didn’t mean to, it’s just, there was _fire_ and. Let’s get some ice for you, alright?” He said, apologetic tone becoming determined as he thought back to all the times he’d ended up with split lips or black eyes from his fistfights. He could definitely take care of this one little bump.

Rummaging through the drawers until he found a pack of ziplock bags, Eren took one before walking over to the freezer and filling it with ice. Though it would’ve been faster just to use the bag of frozen vegetables that was stashed there, it was very clearly marked ‘BERTOLT’S’, and so he honored the tradition of not stealing labeled food from his fellow students.

Handing the bag to Armin, who still had tears caught on his eyelashes, Eren gave him a lopsided smile.

“Come on, I have hotpockets up in my room. Yeah, too many’ll make you constipated, but that’s a pain in the ass for another day.”

Armin stared at him strangely for a moment before bursting into laughter, pain forgotten.

“Oh- oh my god, Eren, did you just make a shit joke? You did, oh man, how long did you talk to Levi after I went to bed?”

“Not that long, why? What does a terrible pun have to do with Levi…?”

“Eren, he is the only adult in the history of my life that I have ever talked to that made a crap joke. Seeing as that you’ve never bothered with toilet humor before today, I guess you picked it up from him. It’s kinda adorable, actually. You look up to him so much that you subconsciously copy him.”

“Uh, shut up, do not.” Eren’s ears went red with embarrassment, which only worsened as he thought of the dream that he’d had that morning. He didn’t put much thought into it at the time, but looking back on it, he was clearly dreaming about being on a motorcycle with Levi. The conversation from just before he’d gone to sleep rang in his head, and his forearm prickled where he’d dreamt the man had touched it.

“Are you feeling alright? I just watched you go from Eren to tomato in like three seconds flat.” Armin was apparently over the fact that he’d been elbowed in the face at this point, and carried on like it hadn’t even happened.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I was just… wondering if Levi had noticed that I kinda picked up the way he talks. That’d be really embarrassing, oh god.” Eren buried his face in his hands, hoping the dramatics would help sell his lie.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t care. Not like he can insult you any more without every word out of his mouth being ‘brat,’ anyway.”

“Yeah, I hope so. He’s really fun to game with, I don’t want to freak him out or anything.”

Armin took a moment to study Eren’s face before replying.

“Why don’t we head back to your room, eat some terrible microwave food and build up the minecraft house?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Six hours and an equal number of philly cheese steak hotpockets later, and the duo had managed to build the small abode that they had started into a massive castle, complete with red carpeted floors and a fountain in the courtyard. The functioning automatic farm harvested wheat using redstone (Armin was the genius behind that), and there were an enormous number of animals in the barnyard area (which was Eren’s doing).

With stables to the side of the building, the noise of horses was constant, but there was a strangely closer whinny occasionally.

Digging down beneath the floorboards, Armin’s character let out a grunt as it fell into a large basement area, entirely empty except for a black and white horse tethered to a fencepost in the far right corner.

“Uh, Eren, why is there a horse in our basement?”

“I don’t know, when did we get a basement?”

That was a question neither of them could answer. Coming to the conclusion that it must have been Levi’s doing, Armin asked the next question on his mind.

“It’s not tame, and the ceiling is too low to try to ride it out of here anyway. What should I do with it?”

“I think it’d be best just to leave it there. I mean, neither of us put it there and I really don’t want an angry Levi on our asses…”

“No, no, you want an angry Levi _in_ yourass.” Armin mumbled under his breath.

“What?”

“I said ‘that would be terrifying.’”

Armin knew his best friend well enough to see that his hero worship had strayed very quickly over the lines of normal friendship and into the territory of affection. Though Eren likely would never notice it, as thick headed as he was, he spoke about the professional gamer nearly constantly, slipping a “Levi this” or “Levi that” into their conversations. Thinking it through, Armin did admit that it might be because this was one of the first friends that Eren had made in a while that he was in contact with often, but he deemed it far more likely that the brunette was harboring feelings for the internet stranger.

“Hm, yeah. What are you thinking about, you have that thinking look.”

“Just wondering if we should wait for your friend before we made a nether portal or something. I mean, he helped build the first building, it’d be kinda unfair to just shove him into the server and not give him the chance to help build anything else.”

“Ugh, that makes sense. Want to quit for today and watch a movie or something?”

“Sure, what do you have?”

“You have two options: either The Avengers, or one of the Saw movies.”

“Oh, ick, you know I don’t like the Saw movies. Guess we’re going with the Avengers.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

After the movie was over, Armin left, waving goodbye and telling Eren that he wouldn’t be online because he planned on actually getting some work done, and that Eren should do the same.

Entirely disregarding his friend’s statement, Eren opened Skype the moment he was left alone and scrolled down through his contacts. Finding that Levi was online (not surprising considering that it was about eight PM on the west coast), Eren clicked the call button, relishing in the obnoxious dialing noise.

“Do you really have to call me the very fucking moment I sign on?” Levi said, strangely muffled.

“Oh, sorry. I was actually just watching a movie, I called you when it was over. You sound kinda strange, is there a problem with your mic?”

“No, you numbnuts, I was in the middle of drinking a cup of tea when you decided to fall ass-first into my day, thanks.”

“Didn’t peg you as a tea drinker. I thought you didn’t get much sleep, doesn’t that mean that you’d drink coffee?”

“Wow, your level of stupidity amazes me. Insomnia has absolutely no impact on your tastebuds, thanks. I drink tea because I like it better than coffee, it’s not a crime.”

“Someone’s in a bad mood today.” Eren grinned. Levi was usually sharp tongued and short tempered, but this was a new record for starting the insults.

“I have perfectly good reasons to be in a bad mood. When your entire office is full of fucking children who have no idea how to clean, it can make you pretty angry. Someone’s computer was making a “scary noise,” and when I open it up, what do I find? A fucking rubber band. A rubber band was tangled in the cooling fan from their dumbass office warfare yesterday, and I just-“ the entire rant was completely even in tone, and only after a rather large sigh did Levi manage to compose himself.

“Anyway, I’m not really in the mood for gaming tonight, sorry to break your fragile little heart.”

“No, no, that’s fine. I have Thursdays off, so I was dicking around all day, anyway. I guess I’ll just leave you be, then?” Eren was disappointed, but he hoped it didn’t show through in his tone. Honestly, he never even took a moment to think about if he was annoying Levi with his constant use of the man’s free time.

“Did tell you to hang up? No, I didn’t. Stop assuming things, you’re not intelligent enough to actually figure out what’s going on and you jump to the wrong conclusions. What movie were you watching?”

“The Avengers. Lame, I know, but Armin was with me and he didn’t want to watch the Saw movies, so…”

“Oi, you shut your yap, that was a good movie. Well, it wasn’t awful, anyway. There were a few glaringly obvious plotholes, but given the fact that almost 20% of the budget was spent animating the Hulk? I guess I can let imperfection slide, this time.”

“Oh, wow, you actually went to see it?”

“Not many people _didn’t_ go to see it, shit-for-brains. It was only like the third best grossing movie of all time, or something.”

“Oh, I have to ask you, what time zone are you in? I never really thought about it, I was just on when you were.”

“I live in California. Why, how far away are you? If you say Toronto or some shit I’m sending your Canadian ass to bed.”

Eren laughed, “No, no. Just as bad, though, I’m in New York. The state, not the city. What does being Canadian have to do with my bedtime?”

“You’re right, that is just as bad. You should go to bed. Being Canadian has nothing to do with it.”

“If I go to sleep, you have to, too.”

“I’m three hours behind you, brat. Meaning it’s fuck-there’s-the-sun o’clock there, but still only why-am-I-awake o’clock here.”

“Still, decision stands. I can sleep in a little, but you have a job so I’m guessing you’re up early. I’ll only go to bed if you do.” Eren said, determined to get the insomniac to at least try to get some rest.

“Fine. I’ll log off and you can pretend I went to bed, and get yourself some damn sleep.”

“Plans like that don’t work when you tell the other person what you’re going to do.”

“Oh no, foiled again.” Levi deadpanned.

The banter went back and forth comfortably for a couple hours, until Eren realized that the sun really _was_ coming up.

“Alright, shit, you win. I have to catch some shut eye. Go try to get some sleep, please. For me?” Eren had let the last part slide past his lips without thinking, and he froze, terrified of the consequences.

“I honestly don’t know what you expected that ‘for me’ to do, but I’m still not going to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, considering you don’t get your face punched in by someone who you’ve annoyed. Pleasant dreams.”

That last line rang in Eren’s head long after he’d shut down his computer. The sonorous timbre of Levi’s voice bounced between his ears as he fell asleep, and he knew without a doubt that the man would invade his dreams once again.

Dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I may as well break the news now. School is starting up for me, this week. I've been updating as quick as I can, because I really love all of you wonderful readers and I want to give you more of the story, but once school starts I'll be limited to twice a week at best.
> 
> It just turned four A.M., and this fic is unbeta'd, so if you see any mistakes please forgive them.
> 
> As always, enjoy, and comments are absolutely lovely.


	5. Snow Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren spends his Saturday on campus avoiding the cold weather and talking to the people he cares most about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should say something about the way that everyone texts. 
> 
> Eren uses punctuation occasionally, but rarely capitalizes anything.  
> Armin and Mikasa both use perfect syntax, though Armin occasionally avoids commas.  
> Levi uses correct capitalization, but can't be bothered with punctuation.
> 
> No one else has texted yet, but their grammar habits will be in the notes when they are.

Friday passed with absolutely nothing of importance happening. Actually, Eren was pretty pissed at just how much nothing happened. Because he’d fallen behind on his schoolwork, he hadn’t been able to game with, or even talk to, Levi at all. He’d sent a quick message declaring his unavailability, but other than that, had dropped contact with the outside world for the day, and dammit, it was frustrating.

At ten in the morning, Armin sent him a text, and the vibrating phone woke him, much to his discontent.

 **AA** : Hey, you finished all your work, right? Even the stuff that has to be turned in online?  
 **EJ** : yeah yeah course I did. fuck you v much for waking me up btw  
 **AA** : Whoa, someone’s in a bad mood. Are you going into withdrawal from lack of insults from a famous gamer? Because it’s Saturday, you could probably catch him online right now.  
 **EJ** : haha youre so funny armin im just dying laughing here let me tell you  
 **AA** : I’m not joking, you’ve been in a good mood these last few days, even the whole pancake thing didn’t piss you off to no end, which it probably would’ve in the past. Talking to someone angrier than you has done wonders for your temper. Well, until now, at least.

Eren thought it over, and it was probably true. He was far from structured in his everyday life, but he’d made kind of a habit of talking to Levi, passing the day normally and then talking to the man until he was too tired to keep his eyes open. Having the cycle shattered so suddenly was a bit of an unpleasant change of pace.

 **EJ** : no im pretty sure im mad because you just woke me up, you jerk  
 **AA** : Whatever you say, Eren. But seriously, I think he’s online right now.

Across campus, Armin sat in the small student coffee shop, typing away at his laptop and timing just how long it took for Eren to get online. Considering it took about two minutes for his monster of a desktop to start up, the Skype popup announcing Eren’s presence meant that he’d rolled out of bed and gotten directly onto his computer. Armin grinned knowingly.

When Eren saw that Armin was online, he had the strangest feeling that he had done exactly what his friend had expected him to do. Between Armin and Mikasa, he sometimes felt that there wasn’t any part of him that someone else didn’t know already, and at the moment that concept was beyond frustrating.

His stormy mood lightened just a tad when he saw that Levi was indeed online.

Without having to think twice, Eren clicked the call button and waited impatiently while the call tone sounded. Really, he’d have to go into the files and change that to something less obnoxious. While it didn’t usually wear on his nerves, he might as well save him a headache for the next  time he was so high-strung.

“Good morning, you obnoxious piece of shit. Sleep well after all that schoolwork?”

“Good morning to you too. And ugh, not really, I would’ve slept longer but Armin texted me and my phone woke me up. What about you, what has you up at” Eren checked the clock, “seven thirteen in the morning?”

“I didn’t bother going to bed last night, that’s what has me up. Thanks for reminding me.”

“And you’re alright? Levi, you need to get some sleep, all-nighters really aren’t good for you.”

“When did you decide you were my nanny? I’m a grown-ass man, brat, I can take care of myself. I’ve only been doing it my entire life, you know.”

“And how long is that? A whole twenty-six years?”

“I’m flattered, shitstain, but I’m thirty-four. And I’m not dead yet, so you can stop your worrying.”

Eren spluttered, the English language just beyond his grasp for the moment. The series of noises that left his mouth was apparently translatable, however, as Levi was able to respond with little trouble.

“I’m not lying to you. At least, for once, you’re not being exceptionally slow. Most people mistake me for a lot younger than I really am.”

“But  you, you’re a gamer! And your friends roleplay, and you make these awful vulgar jokes, and… There’s no way you’re thirty-four.”

_There’s no way you’re fifteen years older than I am._

“I wasn’t aware that there was an age restriction on enjoying games. I also wasn’t aware that my jokes were awful, thanks for the fucking heads up.”

“That’s not, I didn’t mean that… I’m just surprised, is all, I honestly just really expected you to be younger.”

“Oh, well sorry to disappoint. I hope I didn’t ruin your mental picture, I’d hate for my age to get in the way of you jerking off thinking about me.”

“I don’t, I wouldn’t- that’s not-“

Levi’s chuckle was muffled, as if he’d covered the microphone in efforts to stop it from being heard over the chat.

“I know, I know. Ah, Eren, don’t get your panties in a twist.” He breathed out, amusement still evident in his tone. “Honestly, you’re a goldmine of flustered responses. The last time that I heard something so painfully awkward was when Petra stumbled into the men’s room one morning before she’d had her coffee.”

Eren was about to make a comment about how it was rude to tell embarrassing stories about other people, when he heard a small noise that sounded somewhere between an annoyed groan and a puppy’s whine.

“Levi, did you just yawn?”

“No, my asshole took up yodeling. Yeah I yawned, what’s it to you?”

“Nothing. Well, actually, not nothing, I think you should get some sleep, but you don’t listen to me so it doesn’t matter.”

“Alright, _you_ listen to _me_. I would love to get some sleep. It’d be great if I could just lie down, shut my eyes, and lose eight hours of my life like the rest of the world. Un-fucking-fortunately for me, that’s just not the way it works. I’m going to be right back, I don’t smoke inside. You should take the opportunity to get some breakfast, I know you haven’t eaten yet.”

Eren was about to ask Levi about his smoking, but the line went dead before he got the opportunity to. Rising from his chair with a quiet sigh, he decided that it was probably best to follow Levi’s suggestion and get something to eat. Something that was not pre-cooked and frozen was greatly preferred.

Considering that the only food in Eren’s dorm room fell into that category, he was forced to get dressed and go to one of the food places nearby. Being that only two places served breakfast-y foods, the IHOP that was just off campus and the small café attached to the bookstore, the decision was really more of a ‘how far am I willing to walk,’ rather than a ‘what kind of food am I in the mood for.’

Stepping outside the dormitory building quickly made his choice for him, the air outside unseasonably cold even for mid-November. The sky was overcast, though not thickly, and Eren found himself wondering if the slate blue that the clouds were tinged was the same color as Levi’s eyes.

Staring upwards in wonder as the first tiny flurries of a snowstorm began falling, Eren let his feet carry him towards the café where he could grab a breakfast wrap and a hot apple cider. He’d have to see who was working. If it was someone he knew, he could try to buy a box of instant cocoa for up in his dorm room.

Walking into the heated building was a relief, the tips of his ears and nose already reddening with the cold. Looking back out the window for a moment, Eren saw other students enjoying the snowfall. Connie and Sasha were huddled together on a bench, each holding a steaming cup, laughing at some joke that one of them had told. Some boy, tall and dark haired, was sitting in a tree talking to a blonde haired boy and girl who were sitting at the bottom of the trunk. They were rather far away, but Eren was able to tell that the trio was Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie. In the middle of one of the lawns, Marco lay in the grass, camera pointed skyward. Jean, walking over to him, sat down and offered the freckled boy a coffee, which he accepted with a smile.

Turning around, Eren was pleased to see that Krista, a petite and kind blonde, and Ymir, a tall and slightly intimidating girl, were the students working the counter. Placing his order and asking about a box of hot chocolate, Eren paid and plopped down at one of the window-side tables, planning on returning to student watching. However, he received a text before he got the opportunity.

 **MA** : Eren, if the pond is frozen, do you want to go ice skating?  
 **EJ** : sounds like fun, did you convince armin?  
 **MA** : Yeah, I asked him before you. The pond probably isn’t going to freeze today, but we can head out first thing tomorrow.  
 **EJ** : wonderful plan, im in.  
 **MA** : Great. It’ll be nice to spend some time with you outside your tiny dorm room.  
 **EJ** : hey if you wanted to run on the treadmills with me all you had to do was ask  
 **MA** : You got mad at me for out-pacing you last time.  
 **EJ** : still, all you gotta do is ask  
 **MA** : Remember that you’re the one who said that when you want to complain later.

Retrieving his order from the front counter, Eren thanked Ymir and Krista and went to sit down at the table he’d claimed. The suddenly available food making his stomach growl and his mouth water, Eren devoured the wrap in no time at all and disposed of the plate, carrying his cider with him and stepping back outside into the increasingly snowy world.

Though they had started probably ten minutes ago, the snowflakes falling had progressed from miniscule specks to massive clumps, and the landscape was being quickly swallowed by a blanket of white. Connie and Sasha remained on the bench where they had been, still chatting away as if it wasn’t cold enough to freeze your eyelashes, and the same went for Jean and Marco, though Marco had put his camera back in its protective bag. Bertolt, Reiner, and Annie apparently had common sense and had disappeared into one of the many buildings scattered around the campus.

Shuffling as quickly as he could without being at risk of slipping on the icy path, Eren made his way back to the warmth and safety of his dorm room, holding his cider as tightly as he could without cracking the Styrofoam cup. After entering the building, he attempted to regain feeling in the hand that had been carrying the box of hot chocolate mix, and sipped at his cinnamon-scented concoction to test the temperature. Despite its trip through the frozen wilderness that had replaced the campus since this morning, the drink was still boiling hot, and Eren set it on the desk to let it cool.

Sitting back in his computer chair, the defrosting student felt a conflict of emotions as he saw that Levi was still online. As happy as he felt that he would get to talk to the man again, Eren had still held the hope that maybe, just maybe, Levi would’ve tried to get some sleep.

_I have to stop worrying about him, he already said that it’s nothing. Besides, why is it any of my business how much sleep he gets?_

Hitting the call button for the second time today, Eren waited through the ringing for Levi to pick up. His nose, which had been pretty much frozen by being outside, thawed a little and began running. A long snort was the greeting he gave Levi when the other gamer picked up.

“Oh, that’s disgusting. Don’t tell me you’re sick.”

“No, I just came in from outside. It’s snowing over here, it’s so great.” Though Eren didn’t particularly appreciate his various body parts going numb from the cold, he could appreciate how beautiful the snow was from inside the warmth of a heated building.

“Wait, only November and it’s snowing? Do you live in the mountains, or something?”

“Yeah, the college is pretty well up there. We’re still considered suburban, though, so we’re not in the middle of nowhere or anything.”

“I lived up north, once. It was a pain in the ass, having to shovel snow five months of the year. I don’t _hate_ snow, but I really don’t mind living without it.”

“You’ll have to tell me about that sometime. I want to play Starcraft now, though, if you’re up for it. I betcha I can win if you don’t use Zerg.” Eren taunted, hoping that he could prod Levi into playing against him.

“I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret, ‘cause I’m the best there’s ever been.”

“Did you just quote ‘Devil Went Down to Georgia’ at me?”

“Cut me some slack, brat, I saw the opportunity and I took it. Besides, it’s good music. Now are you ready to get your ass handed to you or what?”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Eren didn’t get his ass handed to him. No, Eren had his ass grilled, skewered, and served to him on a golden platter.

“Shit, man, you could’ve gone a _little_ bit easy on me.”

“Why would I do that? You’re the one who told me that he could win as long as I didn’t use my regular faction.”

“That was totally just to get you to play with me, come on.”

“You don’t need to tease me to get me to play with you, Eren, you’re one of my favorite playthings.” Levi’s silky voice dropped an octave, and even through the microphone was the audio equivalent of expensive velvet. Eren blushed, feeling as though he was reading too much into the sentence but at the same time unable to deny that the wording and the tone were blatantly erotic.

“Thanks, I think? You’re definitely my favorite person to game with, don’t tell Armin.”

There was a pfft of air on the mic before Levi’s monotone response.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Was that an insomnia joke?”

“Wow, you get a gold star. Congrats.”

“So, is there anything else you want to do? It’s only like, noon, and I doubt you want to just sit around talking to me all day.”

“How about I stream a movie. Does ‘Now You See Me’ float your boat? That way I can get up and ignore you and you still feel like you have someone there with you.”

“Actually, a movie sounds great. I can even make some popcorn, if you give me a couple minutes.”

“Fine, fine. Just don’t light anything on fire, I figure that’s something that’d happen to you.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

After the movie, the duo had played Torchlight until Armin and Hanji logged on, where they then proceeded to jump back onto the zombie survival G-mod server that they’d conquered the other day. Though Armin was slow to be comfortable enough with Hanji to play along in the beginning, by midnight all four players were immersed in their zombie survival world, Levi included.

“Fire in the hole! Zed to your left, Armin!” Eren shouted over the comm. as a zombie rounded the corner and charged them, the squad scattering to all corners of the room to avoid it.

“No, you shitheads, stick together. You’re not going to last out there if you- Shit, Eren, no-“ Levi scolded, tone going pained at the end as he watched his charge turned into a monster.

“Eren, no!” Armin gave a sharp cry and began firing, hoping to put his now undead friend down before he could turn anyone else.

Levi took the pin out of his last grenade, holding it and dancing around the monster until it exploded, killing both of them.

“What was that for- Levi, you promised him you’d live! Why did you… Levi…” Hanji whispered, choked with emotion.

“I really have to piss, be right back.” Levi announced, the telltale ‘thunk’ of a headset being placed on a desk indicated that he’d actually gotten up.

“Dammit, Levi, you ruined it.” Hanji muttered, rather annoyed that he had  broken character so obviously while everyone else was so into it.

Armin, on the other hand, was laughing hysterically.

“Did he really kill himself because he had to pee?”

The realization made Hanji and Eren laugh as well, and though the round ended in a zombie victory, nobody could really find it in them to care.

Except for Levi, of course, who upon return scolded everyone for being entirely useless without him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you folks are still enjoying reading as much as I'm enjoying writing! This is the first chapter that's skipped a day, storywise, and from here on it probably won't be a day-by-day of their lives. If you want to see a chapter from anyone else's perspective, (Hanji, Armin, Erwin, etc.) just leave it in the comments. I prefer writing Levi over all of the characters, but I feel that Eren's perspective is the best to focus on for the majority of the time. To avoid monotony, though, I'll throw in chapters from the other people's points of view!


	6. Sunday Games - Mini Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, alright, so I was going to skip a few days and get to the whole semblance-of-a-plot thing, but then I remembered that our favourite college trio had planned on going ice skating and... my hands slipped a few hundred times.
> 
> Regularly un-scheduled content will be up later tonight or tomorrow~!

Mikasa laughed, skillfully sliding around on the ice as Eren and Armin struggled to stay on their feet. The trio had brought their ice skates down to the pond, just as they had planned yesterday, when they were told that it had frozen enough to skate on.

Mikasa had sampled an enormous number of sports when she was younger, everything from soccer to fencing, and had dabbled in hockey for a time. Though she had ended up moving on, just as she had done with a multitude of activities, she was still by far the most skilled skater of the three because of her experience.

They were not alone on the relatively large pond: the trio was joined by Bertolt and Reiner. Though Bertolt skated as if he’d been born wearing ice skates, Reiner was about as graceful as you’d expect someone who had never been ice skating before to be. The taller boy often helped him up after a clumsy fall.

Eren would’ve laughed, seeing the enormous football-player built blonde fumbling around like a newborn fawn, but he was concentrating too hard on staying upright himself to enjoy the other’s misfortune.

Skating up to her brother, Mikasa wore a small but devious grin.

“Tag, you’re it!” She said, shoving him hard enough to put him off balance, but not with quite enough force to make him fall.

Barely recovering in time to avoid introducing his face to the surface beneath them, Eren turned towards Armin and charged him, flailing as he failed to turn in time to catch the shorter boy. Spinning around and trying again, Eren managed to catch Armin’s shoulder as he slid past.

“Ha, Armin, you’re it! No tag-backs!” Eren grinned victoriously, only visible at his eyes because of the warm navy scarf wrapped around his neck and the lower half of his face.

Armin gave him a look of pure hatred as he attempted to catch Mikasa, who would stand in one place until Armin was about to catch her before skating away from him backwards. If she had wanted to, she could’ve quite literally skated circles around the boy, and the frustration began to just barely show in his expression before it was replaced with a moment of calculation.

Skating over to Reiner, Armin smiled and tapped the boy on the arm.

“Tag, you’re it.” He said before skating away. The taller blonde just looked between Armin and Bertolt and shrugged, seemingly ignoring the game and going to take a stride. Unfortunately for Reiner, he was still an inexperienced skater and he stumbled, falling onto the ice.

Bertolt offered him a hand up and Reiner took it, pulling himself back to a standing position and grinning widely.

“Tag, you’re it. No tag-backs.”

Looking betrayed, the skilled skater pulled his friend into a headlock, mussing his hair affectionately.

“No, no, stop. I said no tag-backs!”

Both were laughing when Bertolt finally released his hostage, and began skating towards Mikasa. Eren and Armin, he knew, would be easy to catch if he really wanted to. But he’d been dragged into the game and he wanted a challenge, so he skated after the only other skilled person on the pond.

Mikasa smirked, sensing his intentions, and began to weave between the three slower skaters, hoping to cause a collision between one of them and Bertolt, or at least Eren and Armin so that there would be obstacles on the ice.

Though Bertolt is an excellent skater, Eren is excellent at being in the way, and so the two found themselves in a tangled heap, slowly sliding towards the edge of the pond as they were laughed at.

“Uh, sorry. Tag?” The taller boy smiled sheepishly, extracting himself from the pile of limbs and offering Eren a hand up.

Eren, thoroughly annoyed with Mikasa’s underhanded tactics, rushed her as soon as he had been able to stand up again.

His sister, however, was able to easily predict Eren’s move, and stepped out of the way. The momentum that Eren had gained left him unable to stop, and he tripped on the shore of the pond, landing face-first in a snowbank.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

As the sun began to sink below the horizon, the trio skated to the side of the pond, legs aching and noses frozen. They laughed, plopping down on the bank and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, removing their gloves and setting to work untying their skates. Days like this, entirely carefree and spent in each other’s company, were rare, and it brought them all back to their childhood days. Standing up, all three stretched their legs, becoming re-accustomed to solid ground, and walked towards the café for hot chocolate.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this got anyone's hopes up, I know it's just a tiny itty bitty tidbit, but I didn't want this story to be entirely about Eren and Levi and gaming. He still has his two best friends, and they're important! So you wonderful readers get a mini-chapter, I'll have something longer up later tonight or tomorrow.


	7. Time is Expensive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is left to his own devices for most of a day, and he doesn't know what to do with himself. Boredom is a terrible thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, here starts the slow decent into confused feelings and higher ratings.

Eren lay on his bed, head hanging off the edge and staring at the ceiling. His headphones were over his ears, and he sat, air drumming and mouthing along to the lyrics of Yellowcard’s _Lights and Sounds._ Though his taste in music was eclectic, ranging from Death Cab for Cutie to Basshunter to Led Zeppelin and back again, the brunette couldn’t help but admit that he had a soft spot for punk rock, especially from the early two-thousands when he was a rebellious pre-teen. Not that he was any less rebellious as a nineteen-going-on-twenty year old, but that may just explain why he held the genre so close to his heart.

It was Thursday again, ten days after Eren had first talked to Levi, and the first day off that he had for the week. The pair had gamed or talked every day but one of those, and both gamers appreciated the routine nearly as much as they did each other’s company.

The long hours spent waiting for Levi to finish work and get online were usually sped along by Armin stopping over, either to play a game or watch a movie, but today he was occupied with talking to his grandfather.

“You know I call home every other week, Eren. And this week is important, I need to figure out what I’m doing for thanksgiving. I know you and Mikasa are probably staying on campus, considering your dad is still overseas, and I need to know if I can stay too or if it’s important that I go home.”

Eren had sighed at the time, telling Armin to go home and spend time with his relatives, but Armin had argued that Eren and Mikasa were more family to him then the people he saw three times a year at best, and that it wasn’t fair that they wouldn’t get a thanksgiving.

“My dad has worked his hardest to keep us afloat after mom died, Armin, I can live without a holiday dedicated to eating. If you still really want to stay with us, go ahead and talk to your grandpa, but it’s really alright if you can’t, okay?”

Armin had grudgingly accepted Eren’s statement, but remained determined to get permission to stay on campus over the break.

Without his friend to occupy his time, Eren had rolled around, stewing in his boredom. At first, he had worked on assignments from yesterday’s classes, but when those were done, he was left taskless once again. While listening to music took the edge off the monotony of staring at walls, it left his mind to wander.

With wandering thoughts came wandering hands, and Eren tapped his fingers just below his ribcage, lightly trailing downwards to his waistband before stroking back upwards, pulling the hem of his shirt with them. Breath quickening just slightly, he dragged his blunt fingernails up from his hipbones and across his stomach, shuddering at the sensation.

Heat beginning to simmer just beneath the surface of his skin, Eren pushed his thoughts towards the gutter, closing his eyes and imagining someone else’s hands on him, lightly trailing his torso and down the insides of his thighs, mischievously avoiding where he’d appreciate the contact most.

In the rapidly heating scene in his head, Eren whined at his tormentor to stop _teasing_ so much and just _touch him_.

_“I don’t think I will. After all, you’re one of my favorite playthings…”_

The voice was more than familiar, and Eren sucked in a harsh breath, a hand roughly palming at him through his sweatpants. This… no, this was wrong. He didn’t think of Levi like that, they were only gaming buddies. Plus, he was fifteen years older than Eren…

His hand still pressed to the front of his sweatpants, Eren felt his cock twitch at the thought. Rocking his hips upwards, he bit back a noise of satisfaction and turned his head to the side as he fought for air, cheeks flushed and pupils dilated.

_Fuck, fuck, I am so fucked._

The sudden panic did nothing to quell his arousal, however, and he was about to continue his ministrations when he heard Skype blip, announcing that he’d gotten a message.

Planning on ignoring it, Eren slipped a hand into his pants, getting a loose grip at the base of his-

Blip.  
Blip.

“Fuck, really? Whoever you are, I hate you.”

The mood thoroughly ruined, he made his way over to the computer, shaking the mouse to get rid of the screensaver and see who’d been so desperate to get in touch with him.

 **humanitys_strongest** : I’m at work but it’s break so I figured I’d talk to you  
 **humanitys_strongest** : You better fucking be on your computer if you left it on and I’m wasting my time I swear I will end you  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Jaeger you piece of shit answer me

Eren’s face flamed red, thinking about what he’d just been doing while thinking about the man who sat on the other end of the connection.

 **ichbinderjaeger** : hey levi, sorry, I was getting food  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Are you talking about actual food or something that comes out of a freezer  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : uh, its cereal, so not real food but not hotpockets?  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Eat some kind of fruit for once we don’t need you getting scurvy or some other disease that only retarded college kids get  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : ill make a note of it for next time I go off campus for food  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : either that or I can take some that hasnt been labeled out of the kitchen  
 **humanitys_strongest** : So that’s where the fuckin food stealing thing starts  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Here I thought it was an office-learned behavior from the rabid animals down in IT  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : do you have any plans for after work or are you going straight home?  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Why are you going to take me out on a date  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Of course I’m going straight home why does it matter  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : im kinda dying of boredom and I wanted to know if id be waiting any longer than usual for you to really be online  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Good to know that just talking to me is so boring I’ll keep it in mind for next time you call me and I don’t want to game  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : no dude youre not boring its just easier for me to talk than type  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Well regardless my break is almost over and I’m going to use these last few minutes to grab myself something caffeinated  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Talk to you at the normal time  
 **ichbinderjaeger** : bye levi talk to you later

When the icon changed to ‘offline’ Eren sighed. He was tense, but even though he had the opportunity to pick up where he had left off, he knew it would be more effort than it was worth to try to get back to where he’d been.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

It took a damn eternity for ten o’clock to roll around. Though he’d gotten the opportunity to Skype with Armin after he’d finished catching up with his grandfather (and gotten permission to spend thanksgiving break on campus with Eren and Mikasa), he was twitchy and high-strung and his friend noticed.

“What’s up with you, today? You don’t have any patience. You waiting on something, or…?”

“I’m just frustrated. I don’t want to play any of the games that I have, and I finished all my schoolwork and I listened to my iPod but that was boring too…”

“You’re waiting for Levi to get online.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, kinda. Don’t think I don’t want to talk to you, because I do, but-“

“But Levi is someone you don’t talk to all the time and it’s a nice change of pace. Trust me, I get it, I don’t mind.”

“Thanks man, you’re great. That, right there, is why Levi’ll never replace you as my gaming buddy. He’s understanding sometimes but most of the time he just throws insults around.”

That wasn’t entirely true, Eren thought after the words left his mouth. He and Levi just hadn’t really talked about any serious topics yet. Sure he was a little cold, finding any troubles that Eren had shared so far amusing, but he was caring enough in his own strange way and reminded Eren to eat healthy and sleep more than he did. After announcing a cigarette break a couple days ago, he dropped a “No smoking, kid, it’s bad for your health.”

No, Eren thought, Levi was more understanding than he let on at face value. He could just imagine how he must look day-to-day, if his level voice matched his face. Cold eyes, the color of ice over deep water, stared out from their deep circles, the corners of his mouth turned just slightly down. He didn’t have stubble, or facial hair of any kind, and that served to make his features sharper, almost feral in how beautifully dangerous they were.

Eren blushed, something that he’d been doing more often ever since he’d started talking to the professional gamer, and realized that the Levi he envisioned really was beautiful. While he yearned to actually see Levi’s face, when he had brought up maybe using video chat, the man had damn near laughed at him.

_“Maybe later, brat, but for now I appreciate the privacy.”_

It wasn’t really a ‘no,’ he figured, but curiosity still burned away at him. He wondered if he’d be disappointed when he saw Levi, as vividly as he’d imagined him. The thought of seeing his friend for the first time and having him be some disgustingly unkempt odd-looking man had occurred to him, but he smothered the unappealing mental image with more and more attractive versions of the man.

Enough of them that Eren genuinely wondered when he’d started thinking men were attractive. Then again, this wasn’t ‘men,’ this was ‘man,’ and the so-called attraction might just be the pining that came with talking to someone who was so far away and so rarely available.

Eren was absolutely certain that he didn’t like Levi that way. He was just a sexually-frustrated teenager, and the strange happiness that twined around his insides whenever that certain person came online was perfectly normal happiness. Or indigestion from his terrible diet, he really did need to work on eating better.

Besides, it’d only been like a week and a half. Who falls for a stranger they’ve never met in a week and a half? Nobody, that’s who.

Eren stuck quite firmly to his conviction as he waited for Levi to come online, smiling stupidly when the Skype popup announced that the other gamer had joined him.

Unable to hold back, he immediately clicked the ‘call’ button, just barely remembering to slide his mic down in his haste.

The call didn’t even get the chance to ring twice before Levi was answering.

“Excited tonight, aren’t we?”

“Anything’s exciting when you’ve spent the day thinking that cleaning a public restroom with a toothbrush would be more amusing than what you’re doing.”

“Ignoring the toothbrush part, that actually sounds exciting. Imagine what you might find. On a business trip, I stopped in a McDonalds to take a piss and someone was doing a line of coke off the top of one of the urinals.”

“Ew, that’s fucking gross, no way.”

“Do you think I get my rocks off making up stories to tell to brats across the country from me?”

“I’ve never really put any thought into what you jerk it to, but considering your weird obsession with toilet humor…” Eren snarked, trailing off at the end to leave the rest to the imagination. He wondered where the sudden boldness had come from, considering that most of the time Levi could reduce him to a stuttering mess with a single sexual comment. He figured it was his brain’s way of overcompensating for the mortification he’d felt earlier, talking to Levi while he still had the boner to prove that he’d been thinking of him less than innocently.

“Oh-ho, look who grew a pair. Who’ve you been talking to? Whoever it is, they’re a bad influence.” Levi’s voice practically sang with the lopsided smirk that adorned his face.

“Nobody important, just some asshole on the internet who’s been eating up my free time lately.” 

“Watch it, my time is more expensive than yours. I’m losing more on this schtick than you are.”

“You going to start charging me?”

“Mm, we could turn this into a sex hotline, but I honestly don’t think you could afford my rates.” If he had deadpanned the comment, Eren would’ve thought it was a joke, but the low, teasing, _seductive_ tone that the man had talked in made Eren’s breath catch in his throat.

“I’m sure I could find a way to pay you back.” Eren’s voice came out rough around the edges, and he tried to swallow with a suddenly dry throat.

The line suddenly went silent, as if Levi had expected him to ignore the comment the way he had the other day.

“That’s all well and good, but I don’t know what I’d do with a brat permanently in debt to me.” Levi breathed, not putting any emphasis on his words but also not quite speaking in his normal voice.

“You could…” Eren didn’t know how far he wanted to take this. The other gamer seemed willing enough to play along, but he was already so confused about his emotions… “have me carry your luggage for you whenever you went to a gaming tournament?”

“Hm, sounds like you can’t afford my services after all. What game do you want to play tonight?” Levi got the hint and dropped the topic, though the air was still charged with tension.

“Want to play a racing game? I have Nitronic Rush installed, I think they came out with a multiplayer update at some point? Even if they didn’t, we could always just try to beat each other’s times.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god, I've lost all control of my writing. I honestly haven't written anything explicit in my life, so even just poking at it with this ten foot pole is terrifying. Next chapter is either Levi or Hanji's POV, I haven't quite decided yet.
> 
> I hope you folks enjoyed your chapter-and-a-half for tonight, because school starts Thursday and after that the constant updating will be a fantasy of the past. I hope you all stick with me through it!


	8. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi finally video chats with Eren. Feelings are had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... this chapter bumped the rating up to explicit. Just a warning.
> 
> Also, this chapter was supposed to be entirely Levi's POV, but that didn't happen. Hehe, woops.

Levi groaned, holding his head in his hands. It had been two weeks since that parasite Eren Jaeger had slipped into his life, and about half that long before he realized that he genuinely liked the kid. Not necessarily romantically, at first, but he’d playfully flirted and the little shit had just taken that and run with it. In the beginning, Eren had stuttered awkwardly and maneuvered around the teasing, but just a few days ago it had almost devolved into phone sex, pure and simple.

Sitting in seven P.M. commuter traffic on his way home, Levi was tempted to acquaint his forehead with the steering wheel in front of him. Maybe the car wasn’t the best location to have a crisis about whether or not he had romantic feelings towards a nineteen year old college kid.

He couldn’t say there wasn’t _attraction_ , that would be lying, but neither of them had seen each other’s faces. That was part of Levi’s hesitation to really try to start anything, the fact that they could fall for each other’s personalities and voices and then end up physically incompatible. He could video chat with Eren, and let him see what he looked like, but what if that killed off the affection that had been building between them? No, no, the car really wasn’t the time for this.

Besides, the little voice at the back of his mind mentioned, you’re not considering him in any of this. What if he doesn’t really like you? What if he’s playing into the flirting because he thinks it’s what you want? You _know_ he practically worshipped the ground you walked on when you first started talking. What if he’s got someone closer to him, distance wise, that he can have and be happy? Would you really take that from him?

Levi made up his mind just as traffic started moving again. He’d video chat the kid, tonight, and if there was physical attraction, on both sides, he would give Eren total control of if they became an item or not. He lived for the kid’s enthusiasm, the calls that would assault him the minute he logged on, the joy in his voice when they won against the odds in CounterStrike…  He really did like him. He didn’t want his feelings to get in the way of them spending time together. Eren made the long nights shorter, time that would’ve been spent pondering the negatives of his life and staring at the wall, wishing for sleep to take him now flew by, gaming and making vulgar jokes just to hear the brat laugh.

_Damn, if this isn’t love, this is the closest I’ve ever been._

Pulling into the parking garage, his hands shook slightly taking the key out of the ignition. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that it wasn’t like he was asking Eren to marry him, he was just going to let the kid see his face. And he was going to get to see his face, too, it wasn’t a one-way street. Despite the reassurances, nerves still pounded away under his skin, though he’d stopped shaking for the moment.

Walking up the stairs, his resolve wavered. Wouldn’t it be easier just to continue on as they had been? He’d still get to hear Eren’s voice and game with him, things could go on just as they were, and Levi could savor the moments that he spent with his friend, no complications involved.

Turning on his desktop, Levi braced himself for the ringing that he knew would assault him the moment he was connected to the internet. He took another deep breath and counted down, five, four, three, tw-

He didn’t make it to zero before Skype was obnoxiously telling him that he had an incoming call from ichbinderjaeger that should be seen to immediately if he wanted the horrid ringing to stop.

“Hey, fuckface, how was your day?”

“Ugh, it was a Monday. I’m pretty sure Mondays are just universally bad, you going to prove that wrong?”

“Sorry to say that no, Mondays are still unavoidably shitty. However, I might just make yours a little better, I’ve been thinking-“

“Careful there, heard that was dangerous.” The dumb smile on Eren’s face could be heard despite the country between them, and Levi rolled his eyes.

“I think you’re the one who should be careful, I was about to do something nice.” He was glad that a lifetime of seeming emotionless had solidified his voice, and that it didn’t shake with his nerves.

“Oh, you? Doing something nice? What has the world come to these days.”

“Shut the fuck up and video call me, jackass.”

“Wait… you want to video chat? I thought you didn’t want to, are you sure?”

“Did I or did I not tell you to video call me, Jaeger? I figure that two weeks and I can trust that you’re not going to track me by satellite and send me arsenic in the mail or something. What, you suddenly camera shy?”

“Hell no I’m not!” Levi had to bite back a smile, the kid sounded absolutely ecstatic. Maybe he wasn’t making a mistake after all, having feelings for him.

The popup told him that the chat had been switched to video, and he stared at the white circle on the black background as views from both webcams were established.

He entirely composed his face just in time for the link to be established, and it was a good thing, too, because his jaw may have dropped had he not.

Eren Jaeger was absolutely adorable. He had mussed brown hair that fell into his face messily, stopping just above his eyebrows. His nose was unremarkable, being just the right size and shape for the rest of his face, which boasted a strong jawline, almost contradictory to his lips, which were neither too thick nor too thin, and looked positively appealing, even through the grainy camera view. What Levi couldn’t stop from staring at, though, were the boy’s stunning eyes. They were an exotic color, one that his description so many days ago didn’t do justice to. They were a beautiful turquoise, and seemed almost lit from behind with a passion that nearly took Levi’s breath away. He watched them crinkle at the corners as Eren smiled, showing off a set of straight and naturally white teeth.

Levi’s chest constricted, almost painfully. This boy was gorgeous, tanned and young and determined, and he knew for a fact that he looked half dead on a good day.

He was about to apologize to the brat, tell him that this was why he didn’t want to show him what he looked like, when Eren interrupted him.

“Holy shit, you’re… you’re beautiful.”

“What?”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean that in a bad way, I mean? Uh.” Eren fumbled with his words, taken aback at the appearance of the man who was still staring through him from the other side of the country.

Of all the images he’d conjured, none of them did Levi justice. He had fine features, perfectly neat hair, thin eyebrows that accentuated his sharp face. He didn’t look like a male model, no, he was far prettier. That was the right word for it, Eren thought, pretty. His eyes, though, were holding him captive. Eren had never thought that he’d be able to identify with a rabbit- a tiny creature with a racing heart, staring into the eyes of the cat positioned above it, ready to kill- but here he was. Levi’s eyes were like gray chips of ice, just barely reflecting the sky at dusk. They were narrow and heavy-lidded, but not unattractively so, and the dark bruise-like circles under them just made the feral light in them shine out so much brighter.

“I don’t know what culture “beautiful” is an insult in, but I guess where you’re from, they don’t give you a full grasp of the English language. I guess I can let your useless apologies slide.”

Eren  had to give himself a moment just to observe how Levi’s features moved as he spoke, his eyes glinting just barely with amusement and mischief as he said something that he thought was clever.

For some reason, he felt as though this was an intimate moment, as if Levi had let down his guards to talk to Eren. It made his heart flutter and his cheeks flush slightly.

“Oi, I can see you blushing now, you better not be thinking anything inappropriate.”

Eren steeled his nerves. “But _I_ can see _you_ too, and honestly, I don’t have enough self control to keep my brain from wandering down some pretty exciting roads. I think I might’ve thought of a way to pay you back for your…” Eren lowered his eyelids, staring straight into the webcam and trying to be as seductive as he could “expensive time.” He took a moment to wonder if Levi could see his heart pounding, looking at the screen to see the other man’s reaction.

Four days after he’d first thought of Levi touching him, and Eren just couldn’t get the idea out of his head. He’d been mentally preparing himself to broach the subject with tonight’s call, and the black-haired man had just provided the perfect excuse to.

Looking back to the screen, Eren saw with satisfaction that Levi’s pupils were blown, expression still bored but eyes molten with arousal.

“And what payment would that be, Eren?” His lips curled into a smirk, and the student wished that there weren’t a couple thousand miles between him and that face.

“Mmm, when we meet in person, and we will, you can use me for whatever you want. Because, you see, that might be just what _I_ want.” He tried to put heat into his voice, the way that Levi did, and the reaction was instantaneous.

Eren watched, rapt, as pearly white teeth lightly bit down on the man’s bottom lip, tongue swiping out to ease the pain just after.

“Oh, you know what you want, do you?” Levi put forward the question, the double meaning clearly obvious even through Eren’s increasingly lust-addled brain. Levi was asking him if he wanted to do this, to commit to intimacy with him, and the concern in his eyes just made Eren’s chest flood with warmth. He loved Levi, he did. And whether his feelings were returned as strongly, he wasn’t sure, but he did know that Levi had feelings for him, too.

“Yes, I do. I want you, every part of you. I want to touch, and taste, and I want you to be mine.” He put equal parts heat and emotion into the sentence, hoping to tell Levi just how strongly he felt about the man.

The shuddering breath he got in response was a more than acceptable answer, Eren decided.

“Why don’t we get onto the things that I want, hm? I want you to touch yourself for me, let me watch you fall apart.”

Eren hesitated for the first time since he’d seen Levi’s face, though the words had sent a tingle of heat down his spine. With trembling hands, he smoothed his hands down the insides of his thighs, parting his legs as he stared down the predatory eyes on his monitor.

“You… you’re going to have to keep talking.” His face, already tinged red, flamed entirely scarlet with the confession.

“What do you want me to talk about? I could go on about the weather, or I could tell you about my cars, or. Oh, wait, did you want me to talk about how much I want to see how your face looks entirely blissed out? How I’d love to see that pretty little mouth of yours open and panting as you touch your cock, thinking about _my_ hands, _my_ lips?” Though he’d never been much of a writer, if he was describing the details of Levi’s voice, Eren might compare it to smooth brandy, dark and sharp and sensual.

Despite how much he wanted to see Levi’s reactions, let his eyes slip closed as he cupped a hand at the front of his jeans, pressing down with his palm to provide some friction. He bit back a yelp, the sensation almost too much with how hard he was.

“No, no, that just won’t do.”

Opening his eyes in confusion, Eren looked at the screen. Levi was sitting, one hand under his chin and a fantastically predatory look on his face. Eren might’ve thought that he looked bored, if not for the light flush across his cheeks and his other hand moving slowly somewhere beneath the desk.

“Ah, what won’t?” The brown-haired teen said, unable to keep his voice from sounding wrecked and breathless as he rocked his hips into the hand still resting on his crotch.

“You, being so quiet. I want your body to sing for me, Eren. Let the people on the other side of those thin dorm walls know just what you’re doing. Let them know that you belong to me.”

“Fuck, _Levi_.” Eren couldn’t stand the confinement any longer, and he popped the button on his jeans, zipper sliding down with a satisfying vhirr.

The other man, who hadn’t vocalized his pleasure until now, gave a low moan, eyes sliding shut and eyebrows drawing together as he bit his lip.

“Say my name again, fuck, say it again.”

Eren couldn’t say no to the rough command, and as he pulled down his pants to mid-thigh, letting the waistband of his boxers drag across his cock, he groaned out Levi’s name, cracking open his eyes to watch the effect that it would have.

The sight didn’t disappoint. Levi had his eyes squeezed shut as he bit down on the knuckles of his left hand. Face flushed and back arched, Eren watched as his arm moved in a methodical pattern, the slight jerk and heavy pant at the end of each motion enough to tell Eren that the dark haired man was twisting his wrist at the end of each stroke.

He felt like a voyeur, and the thought combined with the image in front of him made his dick twitch visibly.

Waiting until Levi opened his eyes, Eren raised his hand to his mouth and licked a broad stripe from the heel of his palm to the tip of his middle finger, watching as the man’s eyes followed his hand until it was beneath the desk, where he switched his lust-addled gaze to Eren’s face.

He couldn’t hold back the breathy whine that escaped his throat when he finally got his hand around his cock, hips jolting in search of more friction before he could control himself.

“You have a fucking gorgeous voice, brat. I wish I was there, so I could make you beg like a slut. I could take you apart, make you scream my name for everyone to hear…” The sentences were annoyingly coherent, despite the heavy pants and breathy noises that interrupted them. Eren could do nothing but listen to the wonderfully filthy words and whine his tormentor’s name again, hand stroking from the base of his length to the tip, thumb dipping into the slit and smearing the leaking precum across the head.

“Ah, please, please.”

“Guess I don’t need to be there to have you begging for my cock. How would you like that, for me to open you up nice and wide on my fingers, to tease you until you’re incoherent, and then finally, _finally,_ when you think you can’t take anymore, fill you up with something so much more satisfying, fuck you into the mattress until your eyes roll back in your head?”

The choked noise was all the affirmation Levi would get that Eren was more than on board with the idea, his brain far beyond speech as his back arched and his hips stuttered erratically into his fist, head rolling back to let out a long moan as he came into his hand.

Beyond the blood rushing in his ears, Eren almost missed the broken noise that announced that Levi had followed him to orgasm.

Both panting, it was a minute or two before either had recovered enough to speak.

“So, how does it feel to be mine?” Levi’s voice cut in over the chat, rough and appealing.

“Mm, s’nice. What about you, how’s it feel to belong to a brat?” Eren slurred, coming back down from his afterglow.

“Damn good. Happiest I’ve been in a long while, to be honest.”

“I really like you, Levi.”

“I sure hope so, otherwise I dirty-talked your sweet ass for no reason.”

“Levi.” Eren whined, giving away that he’d been hoping for a different answer.

“Ugh, fine, I “really like” you too, you little shit.” That was the answer that Eren had needed, and his answering smile made Levi’s heart skip a beat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a shower and clean up a bit. You should do the same, sweat is gross.”

Eren took note of the fact that he was, indeed, sweaty, and that his hand was still covered in his own spunk.

“Ugh, my legs aren’t working right now.” The student replied instead, as he raised his soiled hand into view of the camera. Watching as Levi’s eyes follow it with curiosity, he raised his fingers to his lips, tongue peeking out to lick across the tips of each finger. Cleaning his own seed off his hand with his tongue, Eren thought about just how much Levi had changed him. Before he’d talked to the gamer, he’d considered himself almost innocent, but his current actions screamed to differ.

“Oh my god, that’s fucking disgusting.”

The glint of interest in Levi’s eyes gave away his real feelings, and Eren grinned.

_I can get used to this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing with my life.  
> Please be gentle, this is my first time (Writing smut)
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated, and I love all of you my amazing wonderful readers!


	9. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of thanksgiving break is important in more ways than one. Three little words make a debut. Hint: they are not "you little shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is up later than the others have been. Despite the fact that I've warned you wonderful brilliant readers about the school induced slow-down, I still feel guilty about the longer gap.

Eren awoke with the strangest sensation that he was being watched. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sitting up, he nearly screamed when he saw Armin sitting in his desk chair, which the blonde had dragged over to his bedside, staring at him intently.

“I thought you were in a coma, Eren, I’ve been here for like half an hour blasting Electronic Super Joy music and you didn’t even twitch. How late has Levi had you up these days? I haven’t even talked to you since Sunday, let alone seen you.”

Despite the adrenaline rush that had the brunette’s heart pounding in his chest, all he could manage to do was stare at his friend blankly, not entirely registering the English language yet.

“…it‘s Wednesday, right?”

Armin leveled a look at Eren that was both judging and investigating, trying to figure out if it was the fact that Eren had just woken up, or if he was genuinely confused about what day it was that had made him ask. He very nearly feared for his friend’s health. Knowing Eren, he had gotten into a fistfight on the stairs and ended up with a concussion from the beatdown delivered by both his peer and gravity.

“Yes, it’s Wednesday. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Levi is working.” Eren answered, still dazed. He looked at Armin with puppy-like concern on his face, his features asking ‘that was the right answer, right?’

“Well, that too, but it means that it’s the first day of thanksgiving break. We have five days off from classes, and the campus is nearly empty. Dude, what time did you go to bed?”

Eren looked deep in thought, counting something out on his fingers and then picking up his alarm clock, studying the face of it which read 11:07.

“I went to bed like an hour and a half ago.”

“Why on earth did you go to bed at 9:30 in the morning on a weekday? You didn’t even know it was Wednesday, what if you had missed classes?”

“Well I knew it was Wednesday before I went to bed,” Eren rolled his eyes as if it was obvious before continuing, “and I went to sleep when Levi left for work. He lives in California, you know, so he’s three hours behind us.” At least his ability to function was slowly returning to him, though Eren thought it would be particularly nice to have a cup of coffee before he did any more thinking.

“What about Monday and Tuesday? When’s the last time you got actual sleep?”

“Well from Sunday to Monday I slept normally, got six hours or so, and then I went to class… uh, I didn’t sleep from Monday to Tuesday, but I did grab a two hour nap from eight to ten? And then I was up until nine thirty this morning. Yep.”

The night that Eren and Levi had officially begun their relationship was a long one, certainly. Their usual gaming and banter was supplemented by talks about their more private lives. Eren had told Levi all about his family, how his mother had died in a car accident when he was nine, how his father was overseas working at a Swiss hospital to pay for his and Mikasa’s tuitions. He told Levi that Mikasa had been an orphan and was adopted by his mother and father, and that both she and Armin had been his best friends for pretty much the entirety of his life.

Levi, in turn, had told Eren about his life as a teenage delinquent. His parents were unremarkable and well-meaning people, but Levi was headstrong and vulgar even in his early years, and despite the intelligence that allowed him to do relatively well in school, he still managed to land himself in more trouble than his parents thought he was worth. They sent him off to military boot camp faster than he could say “motherfucker,” and he suffered through four years of Army-run high school before being released back into the normal world.

“The only thing,” he had said, “the absolute _only_ thing that I did not hate about that place was Erwin.”

He and Erwin had met there and become friends over the course of their education, and after graduating the two had mutually decided that a career in the armed forces wasn’t for them. Although Erwin was the top student, and would’ve been awarded officer status immediately, he was more interested in an intellectual career than a physical one. Levi, on the other hand, generally just hated the army.

Balancing being a full-time student and full-time employee was Levi’s job for the four years that it took for him to earn his bachelor’s in business. Erwin, who had earned enough scholarships that his tuition was blissfully affordable, had the opportunity to meet with the heads of numerous budding companies that were looking to hire newly graduated students due to the fact that computer literacy was increasingly important and that it was mostly the younger folk who could efficiently use the technology.

He had convinced the CEO of Trost Design, Dot Pixis, that he and Levi could wrangle a team of engineers that would help the company get off the ground, as long as they were provided office positions. That’s where he’d met Hanji, though she hadn’t become his friend until much later.

Eight years and billions of dollars later, Trost Design became Trost Chemical and Innovation, Erwin was the senior manager of the largest building in the corporation, and Levi was the head of the elite squad of paper pushers who monitored stocks, investors, the consumer market, research and development, and ninety other things that nobody even considered unless it was their job.

“I actually didn’t fall face first into the red bull-infused cesspool that we call competitive gaming until just a few years ago. I manage stocks, I manage products and supplies and demands. I’m the fucking king of micromanagement. You play Starcraft, you know just how important micromanagement is. The internet was my job at work, and my playground at home, and if there’s one thing I know about playgrounds, it’s that you better have your name carved into the slide for the next class of brats to see, otherwise you’ll be forgotten quicker than you can piss. I wanted to be famous, to give one last little “fuck you” to the parents that shipped me off and forgot about me. Unfortunately, I’m an insomniac with a foul mouth and short temper, so I took that fame the only place I could get it.”

Sharing their pasts had lasted hours, and even after they’d heard the basest version of each other’s histories, Eren and Levi were loathe to end the call, and so they’d kept talking until Levi had to get ready for work. Eren had gone through his classes in a sleep-deprived daze, gotten back to his dorm and collapsed at his computer desk. When Levi arrived home two hours later, the ringing from the Skype call woke Eren up, and the pair had gamed and watched movies, cracking jokes and affectionately insulting each other until Levi had to depart once again. Taking a quick shower and finally collapsing into bed, Eren had fallen into a dreamless and exhausted sleep until Armin had arrived, and even then he’d apparently managed to sleep through half an hour of loud techno music.

“Oh, geez, I’m sorry for waking you up, then. What did you two even _do_ for that long?”

Eren’s thoughts snapped back to Monday night, to coming with Levi’s name on his lips, and he felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment coupled with arousal.

“We, uh.” He had to clear his throat before he could continue, mouth suddenly dry. “We video chatted? I got to see his face, he got to make fun of mine, I mean, it eats up a lot of time.”

Armin stared at him, one eyebrow raised in a ‘do you really think I’m stupid’ expression.

“And there’s a lot to talk about, I mean, he’s kinda my… he’s my boyfriend.” Eren was smiling, rubbing the back of his neck as if it’d remove the blush visible there.

The blonde grinned at his friend encouragingly. “That’s great, Eren. You two have some pretty great chemistry, I was actually kinda waiting for this. Do you have plans to meet up, or not yet, or..?”

“No, not yet. It’s not something we’ve really talked about, because there’s just so much other stuff, like, a literal shitton of things that I want to know about him.”

“I don’t think you actually meant literal, there.” Armin teased. “So, did you tell your sister yet?”

Eren froze, eyes going wide with realization. “Shit, fuck, I’m going to have to tell Mikasa. Oh my god, she’s going to kill me. Or Levi. Or both of us. How am I supposed to tell my violently overprotective sister that I’m dating a thirty four year old who lives across the country? I’m going to die.”

“Whoa, Eren, calm down. You’re just going to have to do a ‘meet the parents’ type thing, except… ‘meet the sibling.’ Let them talk to each other, and _then_ say you’re dating. It’ll go smoother if she actually knows at least a little bit about Levi, from Levi.”

“Ah, yeah, you’re right. Phew, okay, I can do this. Not today.”

“Well, if you’re not going to introduce them today, want to walk down to the grocery store off campus and get some things for thanksgiving? I mean, we can’t deep fry a turkey or anything but I think we can manage mashed potatoes better than those pancakes.”

“For the fact that you’re missing your family thanksgiving to be with Mikasa and I, hell yes we can go get some food for tomorrow.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Eren, I know it’s vacation, but it’s almost ten o’clock and even if I’m going to game with you until the sun comes up, I’m going to do it from the comfort of my own bed.”

After returning from the grocery store with a feast of goodies, the pair had watched the third Saw movie, much to Armin’s distaste. Now that it was approaching the time of night that Levi would be returning home, the blonde was attempting to escape back to his own dorm room.

Not too long after Eren was left alone, the Skype popup declaring that Humanitys_Strongest was online appeared in the bottom right corner.

Excitedly clicking the call button, Eren counted down from three, timing how long it would take for Levi to pick up.

“Ah, hello, my adorably insufferable brat.” Levi hummed, obviously in a good mood for once.

“Hello to you too, my lovably egotistical douchebag. You sound happy today.”

“Do I? That’s unfortunate, I have a reputation as a coldhearted bastard to keep up.”

“I’m sure your herd of paper jockeys is still terrified of you, no worries. What has you sounding so upbeat?”

“I may or may not have tormented Erwin into giving me the next two days off from work. Also, he and Hanji have agreed to game with us tonight, so I was planning on openly claiming you as my own.”

“And just how are you going to do that?”

“I dunno, depends on how much of a little shit you decide to be. If you’re a good boy, I’ll just tell them we’re dating. If you somehow manage to kill my buzz, well, I can certainly be more explicit.” The sensual tone that took over the end of the sentence was familiar, and Eren’s body was reacting before he’d processed the actual words.

“Oh, hell no, they don’t need to know anything we have or haven’t done.”

“Mmm, says you. Don’t try to lie to me, kid, you didn’t know you had a thing for dirty talk until it was happening. How else are you supposed to figure out if you’re into exhibitionism?” Levi purred, and through Eren’s headphones it seemed as though he was whispering right into his ear.

Suppressing a shiver, Eren muttered a string of curses at both Levi and his own body, which had become more than interested without his permission.

“I hope you appreciate that I’m going to be playing whatever game you have picked out for tonight with a raging hard-on. I hate you.”

“Maybe we’ll kick Hanji and Erwin out early, take care of that. Or maybe you’ll get so desperate that you try to keep your voice down as you touch yourself right in the middle of our teamspeak. What a needy little whore you’d be, stooping to that.” It was said perfectly casually, and the indifference just made the suggestion so much more lewd.

Eren hissed out a breath, trying not to give Levi the satisfaction of making him moan without Eren even touching himself.

“Quit fucking teasing me.” He growled, no real venom behind it, “just invite them to the chat.” Eren figured that once Erwin and Hanji had joined them, Levi would be more subtle with his filthy suggestions.

With a few clicks, the pair joined the chat.

“Good evening, Hanji, Eren.” Erwin greeted, sounding like he’d had a rather long day.

“Yes, hello! It’s been a few days everyone, how’re you doing?” Hanji piped up, excited as always.

“Hey guys, I’ve been really good, how about you?”

“My day would’ve gone a lot smoother if Levi hadn’t demanded that he get the next two days off. Do you know how difficult it is to arrange last-minute vacation time?”

“At least I didn’t get in trouble with HR for beating up the coffee-junkie that’s taken up residence in our office, today. Be fucking proud of me, Erwin.”

“You’ve been good, you haven’t kicked her down the stairs since last week.”

“Aww, Levi, are you beating up the scientists again? I thought you stopped doing that when I got moved to Texas!”

“Wait, wait, Levi, who are you beating up?”

“One of the engineers that migrated into my office room is a messy pain in my ass and so I decided to make her feel the mental pain I go through, physically. I’ve been good since Monday, though.”

“You’ve been in a good _mood_ since Monday. You didn’t even complain when the deadline for the sector’s reports was moved to next week instead of the end of the month. Any particular reason for that?”

“Oi, Eren, do you want to tell them or should I?”

“Uh, considering I have no idea what you’d say and I’d prefer not to be embarrassed for the rest of my life, I’ll say it. Levi and I are dating.” The student’s smile and affection could be heard over the call, and the three adults couldn’t help but smile as well.

“That’s fantastic! Levi, oh, you’re going to have to talk to me more often, I would love to study long distance relationships! Especially the effects on someone as antisocial as you are, it would be-“

“Are you happy for us or happy for your research, shitty glasses?”

“Oh, ah, both of course!” She sounded almost sheepish, knowing very well that if Levi had agreed to commit to Eren, his feelings for him were very strong. Stronger than should be joked about, she noted.

“If it stops you from murdering my other employees, then it must be a good thing. I’m happy for you two, congratulations.”

Eren sat, smiling with the approval of Levi’s friends. If things went this well with Mikasa, he could be done worrying about what anyone thought of his relationship.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Is that… snoring? Do you guys hear snoring?” Hanji said, interrupting the conversation that Levi and Erwin had been having.

There was silence while they listened, the quiet being broken by light breathing interspaced with the occasional quiet snore.

“Oi, brat, are you asleep on chat with me?”

With no answer from Eren, Levi’s shrug was almost audible.

“He’s been trying to keep up with my sleep schedule. Moron.” The insult was said with such fondness that Hanji had to bite back a squeal, jotting down on a notepad labeled ‘psych notes’ something about sleeping patterns and neurons.

“I think that’s our cue to sleep too, goodnight. Sleep well, Hanji, try not to stay up all night, Levi.”

“Mh, goodnight, shitlords.”

“Night Erwin, night Levi!”

When he was sure his co-workers had hung up, Levi turned his mic so that it was closer to his mouth.

“Oi, you little fucker, wake up!”

Eren woke with a startled yelp, not entirely sure where he was at the moment.

“Hey, get some sleep. You’re on official lockdown until you get at least six hours, meaning I’m not going to answer your messages, even if you stay up. Go, shoo.”

“Muh, but Levi, I’m awake now.” Eren was betrayed by his body, yawning loudly into the mic.

“The fuck did I just say, turdfondler, get your ass to bed.”

“Alright, alright. I love you, Levi, goodnight.”

 If Eren had been sleepy, he certainly wasn’t now.  Adrenaline raced through him, and his heart felt like it was going to drill through his chest.

_Shit, fuck, I did NOT just say that._

“I love you too, Eren.” It was said quietly, and the emotion that was present made Levi sound almost like a stranger. “Now log the fuck off before I book a flight over there to kick your ass.”

The fear that Eren had just felt fled, leaving him even more tired than before. Saying  a final goodnight, he powered down his desktop and collapsed into bed, letting that ‘I love you’ spin in his head as he fell asleep once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how relationships are supposed to work I'm sorry.
> 
> Also I'm sorry for apologizing so much.
> 
> I certainly hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and getting to know the backstories of some of the characters. As always, comments are appreciated and you are all beautiful lovelies who I wouldn't have continued writing without.


	10. Giving Thanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our trio has thanksgiving, plus one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had wi-fi holidays with my uncle in the past, it's actually a rather fun way to do things.

**humanitys_strongest** : Oi you better not still be sleeping  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Once your body is used to not getting a shitton of rest sleeping too much just makes you more tired  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Answer your texts asswipe I had to get your phone number from Armin that required actual effort  
 **humanitys_strongest** : It’s thanksgiving you little shit aren’t you supposed to be spending it with your friends  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Happy thanksgiving by the way

Eren made a noise of annoyance, dragged out of a rather lovely dream about sitting on the hood of a car next to Levi and watching the moon as it rose and set, holding hands and just reveling in each other’s company.

Glaring at his phone as it buzzed with text messages, he wondered why Armin or Mikasa would text him instead of coming to his room to wake him up. Since when are either of them lazy? It was Eren’s job to be lazy, dammit.

Finally picking up the device and looking at it, Eren saw a number he didn’t recognize, but a name he certainly did. Reading through the texts, he smiled at Levi’s aggressive pestering, typing out a quick response.

 **EJ** : ill have you know that I was sleeping and I really dont appreciate you waking me up I dont give a damn if im gonna be more tired later  
 **EJ** : happy thanksgiving to you too

Eren was oh-so-tempted to add a <3 at the end of his text, seeing as that he was still alive after telling his boyfriend he loved him (and got an ‘I love you’ in return, he noted ecstatically,) but he decided against it. He could be a happy sap all he wanted, but he drew the line at ‘teenage high-school crush.’ Yeah, Levi was older than he was by a good deal, but he could at least try to make the mental gap a little less apparent.

 **humanitys_strongest** : So you’re spending the day with your sister and blondie right  
 **EJ** : yeah I am, who are you spending your holiday with?  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Nobody actually  
 **EJ** : I figured youd spend it with erwin or something im sorry  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Erwin has family you unbelievable moron  
 **EJ** : we can set armins laptop up with the webcam and have it at the table with us when we eat if you want  
 **EJ** : not quite as good as you being here but at least you wont thanksgiving alone y’know?  
 **humanitys_strongest** : That doesn’t sound half bad actually  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Just a warning though I usually get shitfaced on holidays  
 **EJ** : really? you didnt seem like the type to get drunk to me  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Eh I used to do it to piss my parents off and it’s a habit I just never dropped  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Again I’m not the best role model no smoking no drinking for you  
 **EJ** : yeah yeah alright ill be healthy and responsible  
 **EJ** : im gonna see what theyre up to because I havent even talked to them today  
 **EJ** : text if you need anything  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Same goes for you

Pulling on a t-shirt and making sure his sweatpants were the nicer navy pair and not the gray ones with the enormous bloodstain across the left leg from when he got into a fight with Jean and had introduced his knee to horseface’s nose, Eren made his way down to the kitchen in search of his friends. Despite having calmed some since high school, Eren still didn’t appreciate anyone who hit on Mikasa in his vicinity, and Jean’s face had just been too tempting a target for him to resist letting off a little steam.

 The dorm kitchen, unlike when he and Armin had attempted to cook, looked like a wonderland. There were chopped vegetables simmering in a pan on the stove, next to a boiling pot of potatoes. Armin sat, peeling sweet potatoes as Mikasa read through a cookbook, occasionally stopping to check on one pan or another. From the smell hanging heavy in the air, there was a turkey in the oven, and it wasn’t so far from being done.

“Why didn’t you guys wake me up? I could’ve helped with the cooking, at least a little.”

“Because Armin told me what happened when you two tried to make pancakes, and I can’t even trust you with the potato peeler because last time I decided to let you have something sharp you ended up needing stitches.”

“That was in fifth grade!”

“My point still stands, Eren.”

“Ugh, fine. Are there any greenbeans to take the ends off, anything?”

“We’re mostly done, actually. Dinner’ll be ready in about two hours, if all goes well.” Armin said, not looking the least bit apologetic for leaving Eren with nothing to do.

“Why are we eating dinner at three in the afternoon?”

“So we can stuff ourselves and then still have a few hours to recover before dessert.”

The brunette sighed heavily, not at all happy with being left out of the planning process. Usually he was the one who took charge, and though he’d deny having any kind of a power complex, it was irking to have no say in how things went.

“Would you guys mind if Levi ate with us? On video chat, I mean, we could have the laptop on the table or something. He doesn’t have any family to spend it with, and he’s my-“ Eren stopped  himself just short of saying ‘boyfriend.’ Mikasa didn’t know yet, and that was a conversation for another day. It’d always be a conversation for another day, if he had any say in the matter. “Friend. I don’t want him to have to spend thanksgiving alone.”

“I’d like a chance to finally talk to him, I’ve never met anyone famous before. Plus, you’ve been spending all your free time gaming with him, I’d like to make sure he’s not a bad influence.”

“Stop with the mother-hen business, I’m more than capable of choosing my friends.”

Armin finished peeling the potatoes and sat, looking between the bickering siblings. Though he’d thought that Mikasa would be accepting of someone that made her brother happy, the more he considered Levi’s harsh nature and crude language, the less likely it seemed that Mikasa it would approve.

“Yeah, we can use my laptop. And I think you’ll like Levi, Mikasa, he’s funny.”

“Now all that’s left to do is wait for the turkey to be done, right?”

“That, and mash the potatoes. But I’m not trusting you to do that either.”

“Oh, come on.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 **armined-and-dangerous** : alright levi you ready to video-dine  
 **humanitys_strongest** : Yeah yeah just get on with it I’d like to eat breakfast  
 **armined-and-dangerous** : breakfast?  
 **humanitys_strongest** : You don’t have any fuckin room to judge

As Skype rang, Eren fidgeted nervously. He’d only video chatted with Levi once, and it was most certainly a private moment. Not only was he nervous for Mikasa and Levi to get along, but this was also their first holiday, and the older man had already admitted that family-oriented events were rather a struggle for him. All in all, there was a pretty huge chance for things to go wrong, and Eren was feeling especially tense.

The video loaded, and revealed Levi sitting at his desk, a plate stuffed high with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and turkey.

“Happy thanksgiving you needy little fucker.” He said, directing his gaze towards Eren. He took a moment to appraise Armin and Mikasa before looking out across the table. “Oh, can you actually cook? You had me convinced that you lived off easymac and liquid diabetes.”

“Happy thanksgiving to you, too, you massive assbag. And I’ll have you know that you were totally right, and that Armin and Mikasa didn’t even let me help peel potatoes because I’m apparently liable to start world war three.”

Taking a seat now that the connection was set up, Eren looked between his best friend’s faces. Armin seemed almost shocked, and was staring at the screen with a calculating look that meant something unexpected had happened and he needed to reorient his world view for a moment. Mikasa was glaring at the camera lens as if she could make Levi spontaneously combust if she tried hard enough.

“Oi, what are you staring at? You look constipated, and you look like someone pissed in your Cheerios.” He pointed at Armin and Mikasa, in turn.

“Ah, nothing, I’m sorry! It’s just, I expected you to, I thought you’d be…” The blonde looked panicked, struggling for words that weren’t ‘less attractive.’ It was what he wanted to say, yes, but the last thing he wanted was an overly possessive Eren on his hands. “You look different than I’d expected.”

Levi stared at him expressionlessly before shrugging, lifting up a fork and knife.

“So, are we going to get started or what? I’m fuckin starved, I was putting off breakfast since you asked if I’d eat with you.”

“Why are you only eating breakfast now?” Mikasa asked coldly. It wasn’t like she cared overly much, but if her brother was talking to this vulgar douchebag, she might as well get to know his habits better. Of course, Levi might not actually be a douche, but the first thing she’d heard him say was an insult towards Eren, so her mind was made up for now.

“Because I’m in California and it’s only noon here. Here I thought I’d sit down to a nice family meal and I end up being interrogated, it’s like high school all over again.”

“Food sounds like a great idea, let’s dig in.” Eren said, oblivious to the dangerous aura that his sister was giving off. “Because you guys didn’t wake me up I didn’t even get to taste test anything, I want to see if it was worth the wait.”

Plates were shuffled around, the sound of spoons scooping vegetables and potatoes and turkey off serving platters and onto plates filling the room for a moment. There were a multitude of muffled curses from Eren as he managed to spill gravy all across his arm, thankfully not reaching his shirt. Armin laughed at his clumsiness, and Levi watched with amused and interested eyes as his brat licked the sauce off his wrist and forearm.

While the three New Yorkers made their plates, the elite gamer uncorked a bottle of cranberry wine, pouring it into his ever-present teacup and taking a long whiff to appreciate the subtle scents that the liquid gave off.

“Mhn, cheers.” He lifted his cup to the webcam, and hid a small smile when he saw Eren do the same.

“Cheers!”

The atmosphere in the room was strange. It was positive, surely, the happiness radiating off Eren as he ate with the three most important people in his life was like an unavoidable tidal wave of good mood. Levi and Armin were both enjoying themselves, being used to each other’s presence and generally enjoying the occasion. Mikasa, however, felt as though she’d been left out of a very important loop, and her emotions swung between joy at how her brother and best friend were so obviously delighted, and something much darker whenever she noticed Levi looking at Eren… strangely.

Mikasa studied the screen, trying to decipher the expressions that filtered across the man’s face. There were very slight changes to the otherwise bored appearance, but due to her unfamiliarity she was unable to translate the subtle movements into emotions. His cold gray eyes reminded her of concrete, hard and unreadable.

Eren, on the other hand, was enjoying a wordless conversation with his partner, mocking Levi’s overly-neat style of eating and grinning broadly when one of the man’s eyes gave an annoyed twitch. When he tried to take a sip of his water holding it from the top like Levi did, however, he spilled it down his chin and onto the front of his shirt, causing Armin to break out laughing and Levi to give an amused snort.

“Do you guys want to say what you’re thankful for? It’s kinda a tradition at my house, I figure it’d be nice to do here, too.” Armin said after he’d cleaned his plate.

“We can do whatever you want, Armin. You didn’t even have to be here, you stayed for us.” Mikasa said with a tiny smile.

“Alright, I’ll go first then. I’m thankful that you guys are still my best friends, after all these years. There’s been a couple tough times that things could’ve gone badly, but you stuck with me.” The blue-eyed student looked incredibly satisfied, as if he’d been looking for an excuse to tell his friends just how much they meant to him.

“I’m thankful that we can spend this time together. We easily could’ve ended up in different colleges, or if Eren and I had gone with dad, on a different continent.”

“I’m thankful for my three most important friends, sibling, best friend… boyfriend. Especially that last one.” Eren followed up, glancing at the laptop. He had been wondering how to break the news to Mikasa, and as always he figured that charging straight ahead was the best course of action.

Armin smiled at him, happy for his happiness. Levi looked at him with adoration in his beautiful storm-cloud eyes, a tiny smile tugging at the right side of his lips. Mikasa’s expression was disheartening, somewhere between shock and betrayal as she glanced between the computer and her brother.

“I’m thankful that a certain moron fell face-first into my life and didn’t run screaming in terror, I guess. You’re not so bad, Eren Jaeger.” It was said with about as much passion as an ordinary person would use to talk about cereal, but said boy could tell that there was a huge amount of caring and affection put into the words.

“You guys want to help clean up, or are you going to leave it all to me?” Mikasa said, beginning to pile some of the empty plates on top of each other for transportation to the sink.

“Oh, yeah, ‘course. I’ll call you again later, Levi. Try not to drink that whole bottle of wine waiting for me.”

“I’m not making any promises. Wine is a traditional thanksgiving dish and I take my traditions very seriously.”

With a laugh, Eren ended the call and shut the laptop, grabbing his glass and plate happily beginning to scrub them in the sink. He was temporarily unaware of the choking atmosphere, but as he slowed his scrubbing he noticed the heavy silence that had descended upon the room.

“So, Eren, you have a boyfriend?” Mikasa said, calmly but with an underlying fury that Eren recognized from various instances in their childhood.

_Oh shit._

“Yeah, I do.”

“And when were you going to tell me this?”

“I told you today…”

“Do you even know how old he is?”

“He’s thirty-four, but what does it matter? I’m happy, he’s happy, hell, even Armin is happy for me. Come on, Mikasa.”

The rage that had been simmering under her skin suddenly disappeared, leaving her in an enormous sigh.

“I’m going to be stupid, alright, and I’m going to trust your judgment. But know this, Eren Jaeger, if he hurts you in any way, I’m going to murder him.”

Eren grinned, puppy-like, and gave his sister a hug.

“I’m thankful that you’re my sister, Mikasa, you mean the world to me and I don’t want to make you upset. I’m glad you’re going to give him a chance.”

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today. Happy thanksgiving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping you all enjoyed this, especially considering how long it took. It was going to be even longer, but I realized that the next part of the chapter could be a chapter of it's own, and so that's getting bumped back a bit. School is going well so far, and I'm infinitely glad that I still have time to work on Log On.
> 
> As always, I love comments, and all of you wonderful readers.


	11. Thanksgiving Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi alters his thanksgiving tradition of getting shitfaced and trying to forget the day. Eren is involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, no, this is just smut. Literally the whole thing. I'm almost sorry, I think.

Eren excitedly ran up the stairs back to his dorm room. Dessert had gone surprisingly well considering that Mikasa was still slightly miffed about her exclusion from her brother’s personal life, despite her assurances that she would trust his judgment and give Levi a chance. Now, full of pumpkin pie and eggnog, he was impatient to get back to his computer, and more importantly, his boyfriend.

Booting up the desktop, he wondered on if Levi would have actually finished that bottle of wine or not. Eren had never been drunk before, so he didn’t know how much it would actually take to become intoxicated, but the brunette had noticed his gamer getting rather acquainted with the bottle even before the end of his meal.

_I wonder what about his childhood was that bad that he turned to drinking. I mean, rebellion was his excuse but it seems like it’d take more than that. Maybe I’ll ask…_

He had no time to follow that thought any farther, as his computer was fully started, and Skype was prompting him to answer the incoming video call. Clicking the button to make the program cease its horrid ringing, Eren waited as the video loaded up, only to have his jaw nearly hit the desk at the sight waiting for him.

“Mmh, just about time you finally got back to me.” Levi muttered, looking thoroughly annoyed. Other than his expression, however, nothing was familiar to Eren. The black-haired man was sitting at his desk, shirtless and flushed with inebriation. Though the brunette had seen Levi’s neck before, there was suddenly something extremely captivating about how the graceful curve led down into two perfectly defined collar bones, resting above a chiseled torso. The man’s skin was alabaster, but was somehow even lighter where white scars traced their way across his body, and Eren wondered at their origins before sweeping his gaze further downwards. Levi’s hipbones framed a perfect V of muscle that disappeared into the waistband of his boxers, the only item of clothing that he was wearing.

“Are you going to stare all night or are you actually going to talk to me? I figured you would still have two brain cells to rub together at the end of the day, guess I was wrong.”

“Uh, course, I, erm. Shit, you are _hot.”_ Eren’s face flushed a deep crimson, rivaling the alcohol-induced blush that was spread across Levi’s cheekbones.

“You’re not so bad looking yourself. For a brat, that is.” The man’s gray eyes were glazed and emotive, like rolling thunderclouds or the smoke from a raging forest fire. They were violent, almost, and Eren wondered just how much he had drunk.

“Did you finish the bottle of wine that you were drinking during dinner?”

“Yep. And another, and possibly another. Depends on how difficult you’d be about my thanksgiving habit. It’s not like I drank it all at once, though, I’m fine.” The words weren’t slurred, and they were coherent, if it wasn’t for his present appearance Eren never would’ve known that Levi had indulged that much. He was about to comment as such but he was interrupted.

“Do you wanna get off? I’m kinda horny and I’d appreciate the company. It’s so much easier to imagine your lips around my cock when I can see them, anyway.” Levi’s tongue teased at the corner of his mouth before disappearing to where it had come from, Eren watching every movement of the muscle until it was hidden from view once more.

“That’s not fucking fair and you know it. I do _now_ , are you going to help me?” Eren couldn’t help the way his breath hitched or how his pants tightened uncomfortably as Levi stared him down, the previous sultry comment swimming through his head and making his chest tighten with want.

“Depends on what you mean by ‘help,’” the smirk on Levi’s lips was enough to tell Eren that he knew exactly what kind of ‘help’ he’d wanted. “I could just get myself off, let you watch, I’m sure your filthy libido would just love that. Or maybe I could tell you what to do, have you give yourself over to me so I can choose how you get yourself off. What’ll it be, Eren? Door number one, or door number two?”

Eren investigated the corner of the screen, trying to clear his mind enough to remember how to breathe properly. Levi had used the most seductive voice that he’d ever heard, it sounded like expensive cologne smelled and how velvet felt. It was _sex_ pure and simple, and God, Eren wanted him to keep talking.

“I-“ Eren had to clear his throat before attempting to continue, his voice sounding like he was mid-fuck just from Levi’s verbal teasing. “I want you to tell me what to do.” He was past embarrassment for his dirty-talking kink, surely, but the thought of giving control to the other man sent an uncontrollable shudder down his spine, making the brunette duck his head in attempts to regain control of his body.

“Strip.” It was a whip-crack of a word, and Eren almost flinched at its intensity. After the initial shock wore off, Eren wondered if Levi had learned how to give commands while he was in military school. The idea of those gorgeous dark eyes looking out from under a commander’s cap was enough to startle a whimper out of the student, who complied with haste. He was more than grateful that he hadn’t been wearing a button-down, the popping stitches in his ordinary t-shirt hinting that he would’ve torn most of the buttons off a nicer shirt in his need to comply. His sweatpants followed more easily and he was left standing in just his boxers before long, the fabric tenting proudly and making denying the effect of Levi’s words absolutely impossible.

Looking back at the screen, Eren watched as Levi appraised him, scanning up and down his body, seemingly memorizing every aspect of him. If it were any other eyes but those lust-blown, half-lidded gray orbs, Eren might’ve felt self conscious. As it was, he let himself be looked over shamelessly.

“Take a picture, it’ll last you longer.”

“You can _give_ orders when you learn to _take_ them, fucktruck. I told you to strip, not to get rid of your shirt and pants.” Levi motioned to the boxers still concealing Eren’s hard-on. “I want to see all of you, I want to know what’s mine.”

Alright, he had voiced it before, but Eren had to reiterate: that voice was not fucking fair. Not at all. From the smug look on the black-haired man’s face, Eren could tell that he’d seen the visible twitch that Eren’s dick had given at the words. In a last-ditch attempt to get the upper hand, Eren slowly pulled the waistband of his boxers down across his cock, rolling his hips into the teasing friction and biting his lip, muffling the moan that had tried to claw its way up from his chest. It didn’t last long enough, and after the elastic had pulled over the sensitive head to leave Eren panting, the boxers dropped to the floor and left him entirely exposed.

“Shit, I would love to fuck you. Unfortunately, the best I can do is watch you fuck yourself on your fingers, wishing I was there to fill you up and make you mine all the way through. What do you think about that? When I get there, having me fuck you until the only thing you can remember is how to moan my name?” Levi was cupping himself through his boxers now, hips giving shallow thrusts that made his words grow rougher and lower, more feral.

Eren attempted to get back to his desk chair as his legs wobbled beneath him, sighing in relief when he was able to spread his legs to relieve some of the discomfort caused by just how aroused he was. Vaguely, he wondered if any of the spices in eggnog could be considered an aphrodisiac, because he’d certainly never been this hard before in his life.

“You have some sort of lube, right? Or lotion, at least, I’m not going to have you fingerfucking yourself dry.”

“I might, let me look.” Shit, was that him? The voice that had come from Eren’s throat sounded nothing like him, so much rougher and deeper than his was. It returned to a more familiar pitch, however, when he took the opportunity to give his length a couple hard strokes, head tilting back as a high whine escaped his lips.

“I didn’t say you could touch yourself yet, Eren.” The tone was still sensual, but had a tinge of reprimand, hinting that further failures to follow instruction would have consequences. Though he usually wasn’t one to follow orders he disagreed with without some sort of argument, the underlying threat made his hand still on his cock, muscles shaking in an effort not to rut into his fist.

Remembering his original goal, Eren rifled through his desk drawer, looking for the packet of lube that he knew was somewhere in there. While he’d originally been embarrassed that Trojan had sent him some complementary lube and condoms for his nineteenth birthday, the fact that he had a use for them now was rather convenient. He was still rather jealous of the razor that Armin had gotten from Axe, though, it was much better than the razors that Eren usually used.

Holding the packet up so that Levi could see it, the brunette found himself at a rather daunting roadblock.

“You’re going to have to tell me how to do this, you know.” His words made Levi’s eyes widen just slightly, as if the other man had just realized how inexperienced Eren was. With a choked breath, he began speaking.

“Alright, first thing is first, open the fuckin packet of lube. Make sure you don’t spill it, I can see that your room is enough of a mess as is.”

Interested eyes watched as Eren tore open the foil, small droplets of clear fluid leaking from where it was opened. Turquoise eyes begged him to continue instructing him, and Levi just couldn’t refuse. After all, he’d soon be getting what _he_ wanted out of this. Levi finally pulled his boxers down to mid-thigh, his dick resting against his abs and slowly dripping precum.

“Now pour some onto your first two fingers. Not too much, but remember what you’re doing.” Eren had only the vaguest notion of what he was doing, but he tried to exude the confidence that he usually possessed as he waited for his next command.

“Now take your fingers and rub them all around your asshole. There’s no prettier way to say it, just lube up and relax. When you think there’s enough slick where it should be, shove a finger up there. Slow and gentle, unless you like it rough, but I don’t think you know yet, do you?”

If Eren was being completely honest with himself, he’d agree and take it slow. But with how much heat was thrumming through his veins, the thought of Levi being rough with him, just taking what he wanted, was so much more than appealing. Pressing both of his lubed up fingers against his entrance, Eren slowly worked them in, biting his lip at the unexpected burn.  It was manageable, though, he told himself. It would feel good soon.

“You’re too tense. Use your thumb and some of the lube that’s down there and rub at the skin behind your balls.” With Eren’s confused look, Levi reached down and fondled himself, stroking his cock with one hand and the sensitive area with the other, and the groan that filled the air sounded like it had been ripped out of him against his will. Fixing Eren with an unfocused stare, he declared “like that,” in a wrecked voice.

Following his example, Eren swiped his thumb over his perineum, one hand coming down to tug at his dick while the other thrust two fingers shallowly into him. As his hips twitched downwards, looking for more friction, his probing fingers brushed against a slight bump inside him, and he barely bit back a shout of pleasure as his back arched.

“The fuck was _that?_ ” He breathed when his senses had returned to him enough to be able to speak.

“Don’t they teach you damn morons anything in health class? That’s your prostate, and now that you’ve found it I want you to fuck yourself with your fingers until you see stars.” The suggestion seemed much more a command, and Eren was more than happy to comply as his hips rut desperately back and forth between his fingers and his fist. He was panting heavily, and whether or not he managed to find that bundle of nerves again, he knew the friction on his dick would be enough to have him coming soon enough.

“Fuck, fuck, Levi, I want, I need-“

“I’ll give you what you need, whore, just keep saying my name. Beg me to let you cum, Eren, put that pretty mouth to use.”

The tension in his abdomen was building, but the additional stimulation that he was so unused to was keeping him from the edge he so desperately sought.

“Please, Levi, _please,_ what do I _do-_ “

“You’re fucking yourself on your fingers like a dog in heat, oh, but you wish you had something so much more, just think about my cock filling you up, deeper inside than your fingers can reach. Think about me and scream my name, Eren.” Levi was struggling to talk around the hitched whines and stuttered breaths that were leaving his mouth as he watched Eren come undone, fisting his own length almost violently.

The brunette had shifted so that he was kneeling in his desk chair, one hand working his leaking cock and the other searching for more pleasure, fingers curling inside of him as his back arched. His eyes watered, tears of desperation clinging to the lashes, mouth hanging open in efforts to get more air but only really managing to let rivulets of drool make their way down his chin.

“Fuck, fuck, Levi, I need you so much, I- _Levi_.” The name came out as a garbled moan, a filthy prayer, as Eren painted his own stomach with his cum, every attempted exhale a whine as his hips ground down onto his fingers without his permission.

Whatever response Levi might’ve had was muffled by the hand that he had shoved into his mouth, biting down hard enough to draw blood in efforts to contain the broken noise that announced his completion.

As they came down from their respective highs, Eren smiled dazedly into the webcam.

“We need to do that again soon. With you, you know, here.”

“Mhhm, I agree with that. We’ll figure something out. Not now though, my brain is offline for a while”

“Mine too.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Armin, who had been going to wish Eren a goodnight, had caught the tail end of the whole situation.

_I’m going to need to bleach my brain._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....If there are any major issues with how the anatomy works, I honestly have no idea how to write smut or how anything is supposed to work. It's been a while since the last explicit chapter, though, and I figure since that's the chapter with the most comments that you folks were a fan of this sort of thing.
> 
> As always, comments are much appreciated, and I love all you wonderful readers.


	12. Moving to New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji gets relocated. Plans are half-made. Halves are very important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, ugh, I can't find the time to write. I'll try to be speedier with the next chapter! Most of this is focused on Hanji, sortof, so I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Also!!! It's been brought to my attention that there is fanart floating around for this fic, and I just screech with happiness. If you draw something, or write something, or anything, please PLEASE link it to me. I wanna see, I don't care what it is.

A brown-haired woman sat at a rather cluttered desk, interestedly observing a screen that seemed to monitoring a sample of cell cultures. She leaned back, stretching her arms above her head and receiving a few cracks and pops from her back in response. A small alert popped up in the corner of her computer monitor, indicating that she had an email. With interest, she readjusted her glasses and opened the message.

**RE: Hanji Zoe, Relocation.**

Skimming across the email, the curiosity that usually filled the woman’s eyes was replaced with a manic gleam, a dangerous smile possessing her features.

_Oh, this is going to be a lot of fun._

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Levi, Levi, Levi.” Hanji greeted, surprised that the man had actually picked up his phone. Usually if he saw that it was her number, he’d ignore it and let it go to voicemail at least twice before getting so annoyed that he answered just to make her stop calling.

“Shut up, tell me what you need. You never call my phone just to bother me.”

“Guess where I am!” She sing-songed, earning her strange glances from passing strangers. When she waved to one of them, he quickly walked away from her, looking thoroughly creeped out.

“Judging from the obnoxious screaming I can hear on your end, you’re having tea with Lucifer.”

“Nope, not today. I’m at the airport, guess where.”

“I’m not fucking guessing anything, shitlicker. If you’re in California right now, you better not be planning to stay at my place. Because, seriously, last time was enough, no more.”

“Pffh, like I’d want to stay at your place. You threw out all my food last time!”

“It was sitting on my counter for a week. That’s not food anymore, Hanji, that’s Darwinism.” Levi said in a clipped tone. Just imagining what his home had been while the scientist was there made him shudder with sudden nausea.

“Says the paper-pusher to the bio-engineer. Come on, it was perfectly safe to eat, I would know- ah, anyway. I’m in New York!” She nearly squealed.

“Tch, and why should I care that you’ve managed to move even farther away from me than that furnace that you’ve called home for the last year and a half?” Hanji wasn’t sure if it was the bad reception making the man sound annoyed or not, but Levi seemed to be in a particularly bad mood today.

“Well… I’m in the same state as your boyfriend now. That means that I’m going to have an apartment here… do you see where I’m going with this?”

“Consider me a blind man.”

“Come _on,_ Levi. I’m going to be able to visit Eren, as soon as I find out what college he goes to, which means that you could too, when you come to see my new apartment. Christmas is coming up, you could totally nag Erwin for some time off. Especially because it’s your birthday, too!”

“Oi, don’t remind me that I’m getting older, that’s not something that actually happens. I’m going to be twenty-six forever, and nothing can change that.”

“That reminds me, I have to get a blood sample from you, there’s something that you do that has slowed the visible signs of aging, and I’m really interested in what it is, it could be the first thing I do at my new lab! What do you say, you’ve never had a problem with needles bef-“

_Click._

“That asshat just hung up on me.” Hanji pouted.

Shrugging on her puffy winter coat, Hanji grabbed her luggage and walked towards the airport’s exit. The rental car would be there any minute now to take her to her new apartment, and from there she could start some real mischief.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, ah, why do you need to know?” Eren’s voice over Skype wasn’t suspicious at all, just curious.

“Because Christmas is coming up, and I want to send you something! I need to know where the college is. Preferably your dorm number, too. That way you can get the mail straight to you. Or is that not how it works? That’s how apartments work.”

Hanji had wasted no time assembling her desktop, one of the few things that wasn’t being shipped over separately from Texas. Consequently, the whole setup was resting on the floor, no desk available for the monster to sit on.

“That’s very nice of you, but I can’t really get you anything in return, so…” The student trailed off.

“How about this. I promise that whatever I get won’t cost me any money. Not even a card or something, I won’t pay for anything but the postage.”

“You really want to send me something, don’t you? Alright. The college is the Rose Institute of Business and Financial Studies. Not that anyone here is even taking business, but I guess whoever founded it wanted a name that didn’t sound as garden-y as Rose University. We’re… 104 Shiganshina Avenue? Yeah, that’s it. My dorm room is 326, but I don’t know if they can actually get mail straight to me.”

“Ah, thank you Eren! I already know what I’m going to get you, you’re really going to like it. Is there any chance you’d care if I stopped by, though?”

“What do you mean…? You live in Texas, Hanji, how are you going to stop by?”

“Surprise! I live in New York now. Pretty much smack in the city, it’s a really nice place. I’d really like to meet my best friend’s boyfriend face to face. Give you the whole shotgun talk, you know?”

The noise of shock that Eren made sounded painful, and Hanji had to bite back a laugh as he began choking.

“Easy there, let’s not go and die before we meet, hm?”

“I don’t think you have to worry about us having to get married because someone ends up pregnant. Unless I missed a really important lesson when I skipped health class to go to the amusement park that one time in eighth grade.”

 “Hey, hey, you never know. Science is a beautiful thing, and, well…”

“Please don’t even begin to suggest that you’re planning on making one of us a mother.”

“You’re spending too much time talking to Levi, you sounded just like him there.”

“Speaking of Levi, isn’t it just about time for him to get home? We should play a game, it’s been a little while since we have.”

“Oh? What have you been doing, then? I know you two have been Skyping each other, I figured you were playing games while you were doing that.”

“Uh, we’ve, er. We talk, and watch movies. Nothing overly exciting…”

Hanji laughed right into the mic, not even bothering to try to hide how funny she thought Eren’s inability to lie convincingly was.

“I’ll just ask Levi about it, then. He’ll give me all the juicy details.”

There was a ‘thunk’ of head meeting desk before a whimper of “Please don’t.” sounded in her headphones.

“Pff, don’t worry Eren, I don’t want to know about your sex life. By the way, Levi _is_ online, so how about you invite him in and we can choose a game to play?

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“You fucking actual special child, you don’t just jump out of the ship in the middle of space.”

The trio had decided on playing on one of the Gary’s Mod spacebuild servers, after some debate. Levi had wanted to revisit World of Warcraft, but Eren didn’t have it installed anymore and it’d take more than a day to re-download everything. Eren suggested Minecraft, but it had been met with an “ehh…” and a “I’d rather spend three hours on the shitter.”

With suggestions from the males of the group effectively shot down, it was up to Hanji to choose something. Seeing as they all knew the basic principles of Gmod, she recommended that they try out a more creative side of the game.

That was how they ended up arguing loudly with each other, flailing about and cursing, in space.

“It’s usually more fun, I swear,” She’d said.

“I’ve had enemas more amusing,” Levi’d replied.

“Can you turn the ship around? I died and I’m at spawn.” Eren piped up.

“Well no fuck you died, you decided to ‘boldly go’ right into the vacuum of space. Seriously, I like you sometimes, but you’re an idiot.”

“I didn’t mean to! There’s only gravity within like, five feet of the ship.”

“Then be in the ship when we decide to leave, next time.”

“There wasn’t any room! You and Hanji were already shooting at each other, anyway.”

“Seriously, if you wanted to be captain that badly you should’ve just called it from the beginning. I would’ve let you be!”

“You’re not fit to be in command anyway, shitty glasses. So the title is mine by default.”

Eren watched from the spawn planet as their ship exploded, the pieces that hadn’t been destroyed flying in all directions. Looking around, he couldn’t help but grin as Levi and Hanji’s avatars appeared next to his own.

“A rocket launcher? Really? I can’t take this anymore, I’m leaving.”

Hanji could barely reply through her giggles.

“Aww, c’mon Levi, you’re no fun. Come ooooon.”

“Nope, no. Go get laid or something, it’s going to be a while before I want to talk to you.” The tone was genuinely annoyed, not the usual playful ire that Levi’s voice held when talking to the scientist, and it was a little worrying.

The click that told the duo of brunettes that Levi had hung up was even more so.

“Uh, Hanji, is it alright if I hang up? I want to see what’s wrong…”

“No, no, go ahead. That’s fine.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

To say that Eren was concerned would’ve been a massive understatement. Though Levi was cold and occasionally cruel, he usually didn’t react to the little things so violently.

The student sat at his desk, bundled in a blanket over his sweatshirt and jeans, and wondered if he should try to contact Levi again.

Bracing himself, he pressed the ‘call’ button on Skype and waited for a response.

“What, did you think that what I said only applied to Hanji? I don’t want to talk right now.”

“Well, no, I kinda figured that, but I’m kinda worried, you’re not usually so upset. Is something up?”

“I almost got arrested today.”

Eren couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. It took him a little too long to process his thoughts, apparently, because Levi continued on without him.

“Not for drugs or anything like that, before you jump to the worst. Oh, and I didn’t kill anyone, this time.”

“Wait, hold up, what happened?”

“Oh, mh, not really anything. I went to the supermarket because there was nothing left in my house to eat. Of course, the closest one is right next to a bar, and what do I find but two gargantuan shitstains picking on this guy. I was planning on just leaving it be, it’s not really any of my business but…”

The hairs on Eren’s arms stood on end with the furious growl that made its way out of Levi’s throat and to the mic. He’d never heard him so angry, and it was terrifying.

“They were apparently beating the shit out of this twig of a man because he was gay. After I heard a few more insults out of those irredeemable pieces of shit, I just, I don’t even remember what I did. Scrawny called the cops on me after the two guys stopped screaming. I got a thank you from him before he left with one of the officers… I think he’s the reason I wasn't jailed for putting them in the hospital.”

“Shit, are you okay?” Eren couldn’t even imagine it. Levi was so pretty, and though Eren knew he was chiseled underneath his collared shirts, thinking of that thin frame putting two large men in the hospital just didn't end with the black-haired man entirely unscathed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I have a cut on one of my cheeks, I think from a watch, but they were too slow to do any real damage.”

“You sure you’re fine?”

“Brat, you’ve been in fights before, you know how it goes. I’m fine, I don’t need therapy or anything, I’m not in trouble with the law.”

“Okay, okay. But, one question, why did it make you so angry?” Eren knew that he would’ve charged head-first into the situation to save the smaller man, simply because he was in danger, but he wondered why the homophobia was the biggest factor in Levi’s intervention.

“Because I just thought, what if it was someone else. What if I let guys like that go, and they found you? I got angry because I thought of what this world is, and what could happen to you.”

Eren felt his cheeks heat; it was an “I love you” in different words, and it meant everything that Levi’s concerns involved him. He was about to give a comforting speech, saying how he could handle himself, but he was once again interrupted.

“Black or white.”

“What the fuck, Levi.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you too slow to realize that the conversation was over? Black, or white?”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, asshole. Uh, white, I guess.”

“You don’t need to know what I’m talking about. It’s for me to know and for you to find out later. Preferably Christmas.”

Eren was becoming more and more confused. It seemed like Levi’s bad mood had evaporated when he’d told the student about his day, and now he was spouting nonsense. Well, not nonsense, maybe.

“Wait, wait. Are you getting me something? Dude, you can’t get me anything, I can’t afford to get you something.”

“So? It’s my birthday and I can spend money on other people if I want to.”

“What? You’re not making any sense anymore. I couldn’t follow this conversation with a map and a GPS.”

“Christmas is my birthday, you little shit, and I have something important planned.”

“Christmas is your birthday? Man, that sucks, you must’ve gotten ripped off when it came to getting gifts.”

“That really doesn’t matter. You said white, right?”

“Yeah.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Levi stared down at the necklace resting in his palm. It was two stylized wings overlapping at the base, and each side had a loop to connect it to the chain. With a small click, Levi separated the charm, and held a wing in each hand. They were both made of silver, brilliantly shining, but one wing had smoky quartz inlaid to create dark sparkling feathers, and the other had cubic zirconium, reflecting and shining with the silver to be almost white.

He held them almost reverently, clearly the object was of great worth to him.

_White it is._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The necklace is from sometime in Levi's past, you'll find out more about it later. It's the wings of freedom, in sort of a 'best-friend's' charm, the kind that each person gets half of, except fancier. Way fancier. It's important.
> 
> Also, the beginnings of plans to meet up, hehe.


	13. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Armin get a surprise visitor. It's not quite who Eren wants it to be, but oh well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took much longer to write because I was effectively being distracted by fellow writer and tumblr user thingsishouldntbedoing. They also write ereri fics, give them a look.
> 
> This chapter is shortish, but I hope that there's enough exposition to quench your thirst.

Eren stood outside the lab building, glaring at the snow surrounding his shivering form. He was waiting for Armin to finish his chemistry lab so they could go to the grocery store and grab some food that wasn’t cereal that had gone stale three weeks ago. Usually Armin was better about keeping his pantry stocked and would share with Eren if he begged, but his studies had kept the blonde holed up in his room, much to their stomach’s displeasure.

And so, turquoise eyes did their best to impersonate the landscape, staring icily from behind bangs that were pressed flat by the blue and white striped knit hat that was trying its best to tame the wild brown locks it was pulled over.

_Seven fucking inches of snow. Seven inches of snow is enough to bury my will to leave my dorm room until spring. Hurry the fuck up, Armin._

When his friend finally appeared from the building, Eren gave a small shiver of relief, sinking further into his winter jacket as the shorter student shuffled his way through the slush coating the path.

“You look absolutely miserable. I’m sorry for making you wait, I had to finish up the lab, it wasn’t one we could pick up next week.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it, I think my balls are going to fall off. We’re going to have to amputate, there’s no point trying to save them.”

“I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say that and we can get on with our lives. We’re heading down to the store, so suck it up and let’s get going.”

Eren pouted but followed Armin regardless, refusing to lift his feet and creating piles of snow that steadily moved halfway up his shins. Despite the fact that his jeans were getting soaked, he resolutely clung to his childish fit in hopes that the blue eyed boy would feel bad for him. Judging from the “really?” look he was getting, it wasn’t working very well.

Just as he stuck his tongue out in continued immaturity, a short boy with close-shaved hair jogged up behind them, waving a hello to both students.

“Yo, Eren, there’s someone in the lobby of the guy’s dorm waiting for you.”

“Hey Connie, I. What, who?”

“They told me not to tell you anything. Just go meet them.”

“Can you at least tell me if it’s a guy or not?” Eren felt his heartbeat quicken. Levi wouldn’t show up in New York out of the blue, right? They hadn’t talked about a visit at all, really, other than a vague mention that there might be something happening around Christmas.

“It’s not.” Connie grinned and continued on his way, seemingly more than happy to be a messenger for the mysterious woman who apparently wanted his attention.

What the fuck was he kidding, Eren knew it was Hanji.

He huffed a sigh, finally picking up his feet and walking towards the dorm rooms. Turning to face Armin, he asked, “Well, are you coming, or what?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. Do you know who it is?” The blonde was probably more than aware that Eren had hoped it was Levi, and he also understood the disappointment that must’ve followed hearing that the person wasn’t even a man.

“Pretty sure it’s Hanji, but I wouldn’t know from looks, we’ve never video chatted. I wonder why she just decided to stop by.”

“Well, if she wants to talk to you, she’s going to the grocery store with us, because we’re out of food. Unless you’re really that big a fan of chewy Cheerios.”

“Oh, ew, fuck no. I’d rather gargle piss, stale cereal just weirds me out.”

“I wonder if there’s a specific phobia for it.”

“I really, really hope not. There’re some things that just shouldn’t be acknowledged and I think that’s one of them.”

Finally stepping out of the wintry environment and into the gloriously heated dorm building, Eren was met with a high-pitched noise of glee before he was nearly tackled to the ground. Bringing both he and Armin into a tight hug, Hanji began animatedly talking.

“Eren! I’m so glad to finally meet you! Oh, Levi is going to be so jealous, we need to Skype him when he gets out of work. How are you doing, is this Armin? Where were you guys going?”

The barrage of questions left the pair stunned, and they turned to each other with equally overwhelmed expressions.

‘What do I do,’ Armin mouthed, eyes wide with shock.

‘Help me,’ was the response he read from Eren.

“…You two _are_ Eren and Armin, right? I’m not hugging some random stranger, again?”

“Uh. Yeah, no, I’m Eren. Is that what happened to Connie?” He thought for a moment, eyebrows drawing in and figurative cogs turning. “Why are you here? Not that I don’t want you to be, but you could’ve given us some warning.”

“What fun would that have been? Absolutely none at all, is the answer. And this is Armin, right?”

“Y-yeah, that’s me. We were, uh, going to the supermarket for some food.” The blonde was intimidated by the overzealous scientist, and he backed up a few paces when she finally released the pair from her death-grip.

“Well, let’s go! We can take my car, that way you can fit more food in one trip. Can’t have you two starving to death, now can we?”

“Well, Eren’s diet is going to kill him soon enough anyway, but…” It was said quietly, but with less stuttering than the first response he’d given Hanji.

“Hey! I eat vegetables and stuff sometimes!”

“Not counting thanksgiving, when is the last time you had something that wasn’t frozen or from IHOP?”

“…Let’s get to the grocery store.”

“I thought so.”

Hanji grinned at the exchange, not even put off with being mostly ignored. Levi had told her that Eren was an attractive boy, and had gone on about his eyes for a time, but until Hanji saw him for the first time she assumed it was bias from the black-haired man. Meeting him, however, she was struck with just how captivating the odd colored eyes really were, and she made a mental note to weigh the boy’s appearance a little more heavily in her analysis of their relationship. It was wrong to pick apart Eren and Levi’s affections for each other, she knew that, but it was far from the day where she would let something little like morals and a conscience stop her from her research.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The trip to the grocery store was shortened immensely by the availability of a vehicle, and Eren thanked Hanji for saving his appendages from frostbite. He didn’t specifically mention the word ‘balls,’ but Armin glared at him as if he’d said the exact same thing as earlier.

The trio had killed time by touring around the campus, and they were met with a multitude of familiar faces despite the cold gnawing at any exposed skin. Strolling down one of the few paths that had been salted, each took a moment to examine their surroundings, not feeling the need to talk.

Eren stared at the lone hawk circling far above them, the frigid blue sky framed by the very tops of tree branches. The creature was majestic in its solitude, and he thought of how his long-distance lover may be faring, no one walking by his side nearly three thousand miles from where Eren was. In a moment of poetical insight, he thought of how Levi was also powerful and commanding, free from the social bonds that held most people to the ground. Still, he mused, it must be lonely to be at the top.

Armin examined the students around them, smiling as he saw Jean, Marco, Sasha, Connie, Krista, and Ymir involved in a massive snowball fight. Though they were going all-out, it seemed that no one had the heart to aim a snowball at the petite blonde girl. Looking again at the expression on Ymir’s face quickly changed that assessment of “kindness” to “fear,” as it seemed that anyone fool enough to try to hit Krista would meet an untimely and violent end.

Hanji was looking at the campus, the halls of learning bringing to the front of her mind memories of her own school days, and beginning work.

_“Oi, shitty glasses, you’re making a huge mess. What are you doing here?”_

_The brunette turned to face the hilariously short male who had entered the room. His expression screamed bloody murder, and he vaguely motioned to the set of flasks that she was balancing at the lab table, in the middle of recreating an experiment._

_“I asked you a question. Either you answer me, or you leave.”_

_The tone was dangerous, and the light that took over the man’s cold eyes sent a shiver up her spine. She didn’t know who the black-haired male was, but she felt the hum of danger under her skin and stepped back, never breaking eye contact._

_“I’m finishing an experiment for my thesis, why?”_

_“Because you’re not supposed to be in here right now, that’s why. Get your shit and leave before I shove it all so far up your ass it comes out your mouth.”_

_“…Of course, give me a moment.”_

Her reverie was broken when the boys led her back to the dorm room, apparently finished with the campus tour. It was much later in the day and, looking at her watch, Hanji saw that Levi would be home very soon. She was anticipating the conversation to come with open enthusiasm, and the part of her mind that was still lodged in the past suggested ‘geez, what if you did this to the old Levi?’

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Surprise!” The trio shouted in unison over the mic, listening closely for a response. There was a slight choking sound, then a sigh before the Californian answered.

“What the fuck, Hanji, why do I hear your obnoxious voice in that mix of obnoxious voices?”

“Because I’m visiting your boyfriend!” She cheered while ruffling Eren’s hair, ignoring his yelp of protest as she attempted to get a rise out of Levi.

“I have nothing to do with this, please don’t be mad at me.” Eren whined, making an effort to be heard over the loud shuffling in the room as Armin dragged an extra chair around to the left of the desk.

“Why the fuck would I be mad? Congrats, you shitwhiffer, you managed to meet Eren before I did. It’s not like that means anything, I’m still the only one who’s ever made the kid forget everything but my name, if you catch my drift.” He sounded smug, and while that would’ve made Eren angry had he been on his own, the fact that his best friend and internet friend were there to bear witness to the comment left him crimson from the tips of his ears to his stomach.

“Levi, Armin is here too.” Was the only thing that he managed to get past his lips which had begun tingling from just how much blood had rushed to his face.

“Uh… this is probably the best time to mention it… I kinda already knew what you two do, Eren, there’s no real reason to be embarrassed…” The fact that Armin’s face had also taken on an alarming shade of red didn’t help his point.

“What?! How, I mean, I never…” Eren sputtered out, as his cheeks defied biology and darkened further.

“I’m worried about Eren, I’ve never seen someone blush so hard. Could you google if it’s possible to have an aneurism from embarrassment for me?” Hanji piped up, studying the two boys.

“I was coming to say goodnight to you on thanksgiving, I, uh. Well, you weren’t being quiet. I’m sorry, I didn’t stick around or anything. And I didn’t tell your sister!”

“Kill me now, just kill me. Take the computer tower and beat me over the head with it until this moment stops being a thing that happened, please.”

“You’re shit out of luck, brat, everyone knows you’re mine, now.” The grin could be heard in Levi’s voice, and Hanji returned it as Eren and Armin looked as though they were about to burst into tears.

“It’s good to know that when I finally get my hands on you, no one on your campus will be able to say they don’t know my name.”

The only sound that could be heard from Eren’s dorm at the moment, however, was Hanji’s cackling laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all you amazing people, really. The response that I've gotten from this fic was immense, far larger than I ever thought it could be, and you wonderful incredible down right fantastic readers are the reason that it's still going. 
> 
> If you're reading, thank you x1,000,000. 
> 
> As always, comments are absolutely loved, on here, or on the 'fic: log on' tag on tumblr.


	14. It Was a Week Before Christmas...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week before Christmas, and plans are solidified. If Eren had to wait any longer than that, he'd probably combust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the last chapter before they finally get to meet. Except for tomorrow's mini-chapter. Anyway, I'm planning on writing a loooong chapter for their meeting, so it won't be up until next Saturday, probably Sunday. Just think about all the things that'll be in it, though!

Eren flopped down on the floor, staring at the pile of trash and laundry that seemed to get bigger the longer he tried to tame it. It was a spur of the moment decision, like nearly everything was with him, to clean his room in attempts to make it acceptably clean. It was a terrible idea, he decided as he investigated the intimidating collection of boxes, wrappers, and various clothing items that were creating a second Mt. Everest in the middle of his dorm room. At first it’d been a quest to do laundry, seeing as that most of his sweatshirts couldn’t be considered clean by even the lowest of college student standards, but it quickly turned into a face-first sled ride into utter chaos. The choice to go from “doing laundry” to “cleaning the dorm room” was a horrendously stupid one, he realized, and the frustration had him ready to break something.

The brown-haired boy was still lying on the ground when Armin invited himself in, eyes going wide with shock at the sight that greeted his eyes. He wasn’t at all surprised with the sheer amount of filth that Eren had managed to spawn, but…

“Holy shit, are you _cleaning_?”

“Help me. Help me please I don’t know what I did.”

“It looks like you need help, so I’m not going to say no, but… when were you replaced with the anti-Eren?”

“I needed a sweatshirt that didn’t smell like it had been in the locker room for a week, and then I thought about just how gross my room actually is and then I thought about how clean Levi’s house is and how he’s coming over and that led to me trying to clean and-“

“Take a breath, dude. You’re cleaning because of Levi?” Armin had known their relationship was serious, yes- he tried not to think of just how serious he’d overheard it being- but if Eren was willing to clean for the guy, it had to be love.

“Yeah, well, I was. I don’t have any motivation for anything anymore, that pile smells like college loans and sadness.”

“I’ll help you, you just have to tell me where to put everything. Are you cleaning your sheets while you’re at this?”

“That’s a good idea, yeah. You’re a lifesaver, man, I’d probably end up crushed beneath a landslide of regret and old essays without you.”

“Let’s just get to this before I change my mind.”

Eren sat up at that, re-energized by the idea of not having to tackle the massive mess on his own, and began to separate the pile into smaller sections, pushing recycling one way and books the other, helping Armin make piles out of the trash and laundry. The blonde boy froze before slowly lifting a t-shirt out of the disorder, taking one look at it and throwing it at Eren’s face.

“Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me that’s not jizz.”

“Oh, no, that’s not.”

“What is it then?”

“Well, it is, but you told me to tell you it wasn’t.”

“Oh my god that’s fucking disgusting, I just touched-“ It took a moment for Armin to calm down, looking at his hand as if he were going to light it on fire the next chance he got. “Eren, that’s not sanitary, at all, and I really would’ve appreciated a warning… and maybe a pair of gloves.”

The brunette doubled over laughing, managing to smack his head on the pile of boxes that he’d created before wheezing out a response.

“C’mon, dude, it’s not that bad. It’s just, it’s not like I left half eaten food in there or something.”

“I’m going to throw you and all your nasty laundry down the stairs and I’m not going to bother calling you an ambulance. It’ll be your own fault and you’ll just lie there in your own dirty clothes and think about what you’ve done.”

“I’d like to see you try. And seriously, if you can, I’m going to start calling you ‘He-man.’”

“Shut up and keep cleaning. I’m going to go get a garbage bag so we don’t drop that stuff everywhere trying to get it down to the dumpsters.”

“Are you actually going to come back or is this an excuse to flee in terror?”

“I’m actually going to come back, don’t worry.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a while, Eren thought, since he and Levi had dedicated an evening to nothing more than playing video games. Running around Goldshire on his brand new level 6 human warrior, he took a moment to really appreciate what games had brought him.

Mentally travelling back to the third grade, Eren remembered a quiet-spoken boy coming up to him. In all the time that he’d been in the class, the teal-eyed student had never once seen the blonde willfully interact with anything but a book. Completely throwing that out the window, the shorter boy had stuttered out a “Are you playing Pokemon Yellow? Do you, do you want to trade?” A blinding grin scrunching excited, fiery eyes was the only answer that the boy- Armin, now- would get before Eren was digging through his bag in search of his fraying link cable.

In seventh grade, he’d finally been able to afford his own computer, and a love of MMOs slammed into him like a semi, much to the distaste of his teachers and free time. Not that it mattered, he was too busy exploring worlds that he’d never experienced, clicking through page upon page of lore that held his attention so much better than novels ever had.

When Eren reached high school, his love of games was less potent, controlled by a sister who didn’t want to see him failing out in his junior year just because he’d found yet another game that he had to finish. And so, with his reduced intake of his preferred drug, he fell behind the times. It was months after its release that he finally managed to pick up Starcraft II, and at that point he was so far behind most of the competition that he’d quit from frustration within an hour.

Trying to get an edge on the other “Bronze League Heroes,” he’d taken to watching professional games; he’d sit glued to his screen for hours at a time as announcers clipped through the strategies of the elite. He’d heard quite a few usernames come and go, today’s winners were tomorrow’s losers, but when ‘Humanity’s Strongest’ surfaced it never disappeared.

And so Eren had gotten the idea in his head, he should become an elite gamer as well. He could join the guild at the very top, proudly display the forest green flag emblazoned with black and white wings on his profile. He’d ordered a sweatshirt with the “wings of freedom” on the back, and to this day it remained his favorite for whenever it started to get chilly.

“Oi, fuckface, are you even listening to me? I’m more important than whatever you’re doing right now.”

“Yeah, of course. What were we talking about?”

“ _I_ was talking about where I’m going to stay when I’m over for Christmas break. Your dorm has a three-day visitor limit, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah… I didn’t even think about that.”

“Of course you didn’t, douchenozzle, you don’t think about much.”

“I think about you!”

“As adorably creepy as that is, it’s not exactly useful. I was thinking that I’d stay in your room from the 24th to the 27th, and then head to whatever hotel was the closest to your campus. You could either come with me or not at that point, it’s really up to you.”

“Oh, and how are we getting there?”

“Wow, I didn’t expect something intelligent to come from your mouth. Hanji has graciously offered the use of her car to us, because she’s pretty loaded with work for the break. Apparently people taking time off pushes more work on the people who didn’t, who knew.”

“Your plane ticket and everything is already bought..?”

“Of course, I’ll be at the airport at about 2:00 on the 24th. You better appreciate me dealing with holiday traffic for your sorry ass, brat, I wouldn’t do that for anyone else.”

There were a few moments of silence as the duo worked to take down a particularly large group of direwolves that had circled them while they talked. It was no trouble, of course, both players were used to World of Warcraft’s mechanics.

“I do appreciate it, Levi, I really do. I’m so excited, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

With only a week between the current date and Levi’s arrival, Eren had most certainly not known how to deal with his growing enthusiasm. He’d cleaned his entire dorm room, done all his laundry, rattled on and on about the impending meeting to both Armin and Mikasa, and even gone out of his way to get any projects done in advance to ensure that he’d have as much time as possible with the object of his affections.

“I know what I’m going to do with you, if that helps you any.”

“You better make good on every threat you’ve made up until now, you pervert.”

“What? You’re calling _me_ a pervert? I’m not the one who was begging for someone to choke me with their cock while jerking myself off.”

“You massive asshole, you kept encouraging me to yell! You know what happened the next day? Marco came up to me and just before he left, he asked ‘By the way, who’s Levi?’”

Eren’s embarrassed anger was met with a deep chuckle, and the realization that Levi’d been playing with him made him sigh and rest his head in his hands. It wasn’t the best choice, seeing as that he was currently being attacked by a group of bandits, but he was sure that Levi wouldn’t let his character die.

“So, what did you tell him?”

“The truth, Marco is cool. If it was Jean I would’ve said that he was adopted and that it was his real dad.”

“You’re learning quickly. Soon you’ll be able to graduate from the kindergarten comeback lessons to the advanced asshole university. I’ll be your professor for every class.”

“Gonna fuck me over the desk, teacher?”

“Only if you earn straight A’s.”

“What about detention?”

“Depends on what you did. If you were annoying me, I'd make you listen to me sing “It’s a Small World” for two hours. If you were talking back… well, there are other things you could use your mouth for, certainly.”

“Shit, I want you to be here.”

“Just one more week, Eren. We’re almost there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're all absolutely gorgeous humans for enjoying this, and the fanart and comments and... fuck, everything that you do has kept me going. I want to give you lovelies the world, but the most I can do is give you more chapters so here it is.
> 
> thingsishouldntbedoing is entirely to blame for any and all amazingness this chapter has, because she bothered me into writing it every time I got distracted. Thank her, read her fics, give her compliments and gifts and puppies because you wouldn't have this without her.
> 
> As always, comments are loved on both here and the fic: log on tag on tumblr. You're all perfect lovelies.


	15. Mini Chapter - Going to the Store

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes to the convenience store for the essentials.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here is today's mini-chapter! Hope it's funny enough to hold you over until Sunday.

Eren shuffled around the small grocery store, holding a box of Frosted Mini Wheats and a twelve pack of Mountain Dew. Normally he’d pay and leave without further ado, but today the student was stuck walking in awkward circles, trying to come to a decision.

With a final pass of the ‘adult supplies’ aisle, Eren finally worked up the courage to take the steps towards the shelves filled with the various items associated with a sex life that was slightly more active than his currently was. What had him standing in front of rows upon rows of Trojan boxes, however, was the fact that his “not getting any” status would be changed within the week. Hopefully.

Staring at the array of products available was intimidating, certainly, especially for the fact that Eren didn’t even quite know what he was looking for. Picking up one particularly colorful bottle, the brunette recoiled in horror. ‘She’s My Cherry Pie – Cherry Flavored Lubricant’ was printed in bright red letters on the container, and Eren’s ears did their best to impersonate the shade as he put the bottle back on the shelf, probably with more force than was strictly necessary.

_What the fuck am I doing, I should just leave._

With a deep breath, he made another attempt, this time picking up a much more plain looking bottle. Reading the back, Eren was pleased to see that it didn’t contain any added flavors, and seemed to be an ordinary bottle of lube. He was about to congratulate himself on a job well done, but a grating voice from his left made his head whip towards the offending noise and his blood run cold.

“You know, lotion is less expensive for spending lonely nights with your hand.”

“Ugh, fuck off horseface. I hope you at least got neutered before you managed to escape from the animal shelter.”

“Mmnope, balls are still right where they should be. That’s why I need-“the taller student turned to the shelf and plucked a box labeled ‘magnum’ off the shelf- “these.”

“Oh, come on, don’t waste your money on condoms that’ll be too big just to annoy the piss out of me. Honestly, just being in the same building as you is enough to give me blood pressure issues.”

“Hah, you’re funny Jaeger.  You’re just jealous that I’m getting laid and you’re not.”

“Jealous? Absolutely not. I feel terrible for whatever poor girl you’ve paid to get your rocks off.”

“I’ll tell Marco that you think he’s a prostitute, I’m sure it’ll go over real well.”

“There’s no way you’re fucking Marco, he’s too good for you.”

“Well there’s no way you’re fucking anyone so I don’t see why you’re bothering with buying lube.”

Jean’s nose made a satisfying crunching noise when Eren’s right hook connected.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The fight was broken up by the shopkeeper, an elderly man built more like a bear than a human being. Holding the scruff of both student’s t-shirts in his enormous hands, he gave them a good shake, making the droplets of blood and lubricant that were spilled across both Jean and Eren’s persons splatter onto the floor. The display had suffered relatively little damage, only two bottles of lube had fallen victim to their spat, and the cost to cover the damaged merchandise wasn’t at all bad.

Paying for his food and a new, unbroken bottle of lube, Eren wiped the blood off his lip, licking at them in confusion when he detected a sweet note to the coppery taste. Focusing on the odd flavor, the teal-eyed teen nearly choked on his surprise.

_Fucking cherry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you folks are all still around. The official date for the magical meeting chapter is Sunday, and as long as all goes well you will get a very long chapter for then. 
> 
> As always, comments here and on the tag fic: log on are absolutely adored. You're all lovely wonderful people.


	16. Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet up. It's lovely.

Eren tossed and turned, willing himself to sleep. It was very nearly four in the morning on December 24th, and he was finding it impossible to keep his eyes closed for any length of time. The excitement he’d felt in small bursts throughout the past few days was bubbling violently in his chest, making his heart thump painfully behind his ribcage and his stomach flop like a drunken partier’s break-dancing. Rolling over once more, the teal-eyed student tried everything in his power to get some rest.

At four-thirty, Eren finally gave sleeping a hearty “fuck you” when he accidentally flopped out of bed, shivering with dissatisfaction when his comforter abandoned him and left the student blanketless on the cold floor. Grumbling with annoyance and rubbing at his shoulder, he stood and shuffled over to his dresser, taking a moment to decide what he was going to do and consequently what he would have to wear.

_Well… I’m not going to work out. Is the student rec center even open over Christmas break? Maybe I should dress nice, for once. I definitely want to get breakfast… IHOP is the only place open. Fuck yeah, IHOP._

With a destination in mind, Eren pulled open his dresser drawers, thankful for the variety of clean clothes that doing laundry had offered him. Rustling through the piles to get to his favorite dark blue pair of jeans- and wrinkling everything, ugh, said a thought that sounded suspiciously like Levi- a white collared shirt, and a soft light blue sweater. Despite the fact that the sweater was among the nicer items of clothing that he owned, Eren rarely wore it. The tag had an intimidating list of washing instructions, and every time it had to be cleaned he was forced to beg someone who was less incompetent to help him or risk ruining it. Armin’s assistance in cleaning his room had flowed over into helping him with laundry, and so the sweater had survived another laundry day.

Shucking his t-shirt and flannel pajama pants, he pulled on his chosen outfit and ran fingers through his mussed hair in a vain attempt to tame it. Opening the small closet wedged in the corner of the room, Eren extracted his pea coat and snow boots before stepping into the loosely-tied footwear and tugging on the winter jacket. It was a nice coat, he distractedly noted. If he stopped wearing such bulky sweatshirts he’d be able to wear it more often without looking like he was smuggling potatoes across the border of a third-world country.

Grabbing his wallet and a scarf, Eren walked out of his dorm room and down the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time and quickly arriving at the lobby. Exiting through the automatic doors as he wound the warm fabric around his neck, he was struck with just how _empty_ it was. Even at the ungodly hour of five in the morning, there were usually students loitering about, walking back to their dorms to crash after a long night-shift or visible in the windows of the café during an all-nighter. Some were morning people who had just woken up and decided that “before the sun is up” was a wonderful time to go for a walk.

But today, December 24th, the school was silent.

With everyone gone for Christmas break, Eren stepped into a snow-covered wasteland. The lamps illuminating the paths flickered occasionally, making the shallow footprints that had been smoothed over by fresh flurries seem to move. Holding his breath, he listened to the quiet, unnerved by how even his own heartbeat seemed muffled.

Whistling a cheery tune that he couldn’t quite place a name to, Eren made his way through the deep snow and towards his goal: the International House of Pancakes. It was a trek that bards could write great ballads about, certainly. A perilous journey that involved multiple instances of slipping and falling on his ass, getting caught in snow drifts up to his thighs, and at one point having to follow someone else’s footprints in order to be able to walk through the increasingly deepening snow. The indents were far enough apart that Eren had to literally jump from one to the other, angrily muttering about giant-human hybrids. 

Finally arriving at his destination, Eren stepped into the blissfully heated building, damp and cold but no less excited about the day.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Hanji, could you turn down- that is not down- Hanji please-“

It had been fifteen minutes since Eren had gotten into the car with the brown-haired scientist, and he was already worried about his future hearing ability. Not that her taste in music was bad, but whatever the bass-heavy nonsense was, it was blasting through the 2012 Challenger’s speakers with enough force to rattle his teeth and make his eyes water.

Now, on the way to the airport, he was begging her to turn the volume down and “Please please stop headbanging Hanji you are driving please I don’t want to die-“ as he gripped his seat hard enough to leave him with white knuckles. The mixture of excitement and fear brewing in his stomach was enough to have Eren shaking, and he’d check and re-check the text from Levi that contained the gate number for his arrival every few minutes. He had it committed to memory at this point, but it was a comforting twitch that helped distract him from the nutcase currently transporting him.

Finally looking over at her charge, Hanji noticed how the teen was trembling and turned down the shitty dubstep that had been vibrating the entire car up until that point.

“Oh, what’s wrong? Are you nervous?”

“Your driving terrifies me. Could you please leave the radio turned lower, and you know, maybe look at the road every once in a while?”

“You’re absolutely no fun. C’mon, what if I turned on your music? Do you have your iPod on you?”

“Uh, sure, hang on.” It wasn’t liable to make him feel any better about swerving wildly around on the highway, but maybe if it was calmer music Hanji would stop headbanging. With shaking hands, Eren dug his iPod out of his pocket and handed it to the eccentric woman.

When she hit play, Hanji’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“The Unlikely Candidates? I pegged you for more of a Sum 41, Simple Plan kinda guy.”

“Those are on there too, but nobody is in the mood for one kind of music _all_ the time.”

“You’ve obviously never talked to Erwin about music, then.”

“Really? What kind of music does he listen to?”

“Classical music and polka. Seriously, all day every day, I couldn’t get him to listen to something else if I tried.”

“Well… to each his own?” Despite the words, Eren was biting the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. Though he’d never seen Erwin’s face, he seemed like quite the serious-looking man, and imagining him listening to _polka_ of all things was hilarious.

Even with Hanji’s dangerous driving, the calmer music and entertaining commentary were enough to settle his nerves for the time being.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, hang on, I’m going to stop in one of the shops for a minute!” Eren called over his shoulder as he walked away from his companion. He’d been browsing for Christmas gifts online, and had located one that he thought Levi would really enjoy. He had also noted that the chain of stores that they sold them at had an outlet in the airport, and so the plan to pick up Levi and his gift in the same place was made.

“Okay, just remember, we’re at gate C52! Don’t be late!”

“No problem, I’ve got it memorized!”

_Wait, C52? It’s C42, I know it is. I’ve read the text like eight hundred times I know it’s C42._

Walking into the store, Eren cringed at some of the ‘novelty goods’ displayed on the shelves. It really wasn’t the classiest place, but then again, any store that sold what he wanted to buy probably wasn’t the most publically acceptable. Wandering around, he spotted what he was looking for. It was a desk nametag, much like those you’d see on a principal’s desk or the like, but rather than a name it said “Fucker in charge of you fucking fucks.” With a grin, the brunette plucked a box off the shelf and walked up to the counter.

Wandering back out, it took a moment for Eren to orient himself in the massive crowd of people. Christmas traffic really was terrible, even if at this rate a good portion of people would probably miss most of “Christmas.”

Walking with a bounce in his step towards the gate- C42, he reminded himself- the student could feel the excitement beneath his skin, crackling like static electricity and making his heart jump in his chest. When they saw each other, would they run at each other like children running into the sea for the first time? Would he be lifted in an ecstatic hug, would he lift Levi? Would they walk calmly to each other, exchange some words and interact if they were not-quite-strangers?

As he reached the gate, he hummed in thought, waiting impatiently for his lover to arrive.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Stepping off the plane, Levi glared angrily at the people surrounding him. Though he’d flown first class, there was still an infuriatingly large number of other passengers aboard, which meant that he had to fight his way to the door against other Christmas-commuters. Carry-on bag in hand, the black-haired man was about twenty seconds from finding the nearest sharp object and stabbing his way through the crowd. He was more important than they were, dammit.

People, air pressure, annoying captains on static-filled speakers, everything added up and had his fingers itching for the lighter that was stashed away in his luggage. Not one bit of his nicotine craving was because he was nervous about meeting Eren, nope, absolutely none.

Stepping out of the loading dock and onto solid ground for the first time in two and a half hours, Levi watched the people around him walk quickly to baggage claim, standing around and waiting for their bags to be shit out of the port that led from the plane’s stomach to the rotating loop of conveyor belts.

With a smirk he noted that his gold-tagged bags were already placed aside, waiting for him to retrieve them.

Gathering up his belongings, he walked with long strides towards the exit gates, looking for the crowd that was sure to be waiting for their loved ones at the end. Finally spotting the mass of people, Levi looked from face to face in search of his brat, eyes lingering on Hanji before scanning the rest of the crowd. He slowed his walk, now moving at an unhurried pace, and continued the hunt, hoping his eyes would catch brilliant turquoise ones through the mob.

Hanji, however, had other ideas.

Jumping over the divider, she very nearly knocked out two children in her rush to get to Levi.

“Levi Levi Levi! I’m so excited to see you, how was your trip? Long time no see!” She called, picking up the shorter man and spinning in a circle, forcing him to let go of his bags.

“Not that I’m not excited to see you… well no, I’m not. You’re not the brown-haired moron I was hoping for.”

One of the people in the coagulation of bodies laughed, unsure of what to make of the eccentric woman who was currently holding up a short man in possession of the single most bored expression he’d ever seen.

“I have no idea where Eren ran off to, he said he wanted to go into one of the shops when we first got here and he just never reappeared. Maybe he’s at the wrong gate? Let’s get a little ways away from here and find out.”

“Fucking fantastic. Just wonderful, the first time we’re going to get to see each other in person and he can’t even be bothered to stop being mentally deficient for ten minutes.”

Gathering up his belongings that had been unceremoniously dropped on the floor after Hanji’s enthusiastic assault, the duo made their way past the feral pack of impatient families and towards the lower  gate numbers, Levi taking a moment to locate his lighter and cigarettes before continuing on.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Eren stood, confused, at the gate that he’d memorized on the car ride to the airport. Looking around, he noticed growing crowds gathering at the velvet ropes to gates on either side of him, but none stopped to wait for someone disembarking to C42.

_Maybe Hanji was right? Should I text her to meet me here, or try to find them..?_

Before he could come to a decision, Eren’s phone vibrated.

 **HZ:** Eren where are you???  
 **EJ:** at gate c42 ive been here for a while now  
 **HZ:** I told you gate C52, I’m with Levi. We’re coming to you, now, so don’t go anywhere!

Reading the text, the brown-haired teen looked at the time with surprise. With a grimace he realized that it was about 2:20, which meant that he’d been in the wrong place for nearly half an hour. Shuffling his feet and standing at the gate, he turned to the left and waited for his friends to come into view.

When he finally spotted Hanji, he almost didn’t recognize Levi walking next to her.

_Oh my god, he’s so short._

The other man put down his bags just in time for Eren to run at him, the brunette sweeping him into a vicious hug and lifting him off the ground.

“Oh, fuck, you’re heavier than I thought you’d be. It’s so good to meet you, Levi, oh my god.”

“Oi, is that really the first thing you want to say to the person who dragged their sorry ass across the country to see you?”

Eren was about to shoot back a stuttering reply but a gentle hand reached up to cup his cheek, thumb lightly resting on his lips. Levi’s eyes, beautifully blue-gray under the airport lighting, bored into his and pinned him in place. The teen’s heartbeat picked up as Levi slowly rose onto tip-toes, stopping just a hairsbreadth from touching noses.

“Whatever you were about to say, forget it. Just kiss me.”

That was all the invitation that Eren needed, tilting his head just enough to avoid crashing their noses together and pressing his lips to Levi’s. The shorter man responded by looping his arms around Eren’s neck and pulling him down to a more reasonable height before tugging at the student’s bottom lip with gentle teeth. Eren gasped into the kiss, overwhelmed with sensation and emotion before wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist and pulling their bodies closer together. One hand settling on the black-haired man’s hip, questing fingers pushed aside the hem of the shirt resting there and settled on warm skin eliciting a shiver from both parties.

With a brief lick at Eren’s mouth, Levi’s tongue demanded permission to enter, sliding past lips and teeth parted in surprise. Levi moved a hand from the back of Eren’s neck and into his hair, using the soft strands to yank the teen’s head to the side in order to have more access to his mouth. Eren whimpered softly, hoping that his attempts at reciprocation were as satisfying as the lightning shocks he received every time Levi’s tongue slid across the roof of his mouth.

When Eren’s hand wandered up Levi’s side, lifting his shirt up far enough to expose his navel, Hanji finally decided to intervene.

“Alright, love bugs, I understand that you’re all kinds of hyped to get into each other’s pants, but the middle of the airport is not the place to do it.”

Eren flinched and stepped back, the light flush on his cheeks spreading half way down his neck when he had to wipe the line of drool that had connected his lips to Levi’s off his chin.

Levi simply shrugged and retrieved his luggage, casting a glare out at the bystanders who dared even glance in his direction. Some of the passersby seemed happy for them, apparently realizing that they were long-distance lovers. Others glared darkly, covering their children’s eyes either because of the overly sexual display or the fact that it was a gay couple.

“You’re not such a bad kisser for someone with no experience. Still, I’d like to help you get even better.”

“Can we get going? It’s supposed to snow again, and I don’t really want to be in the car with Hanji driving when it’s snowing, too.”

“Hey, are you insulting my driving? I am a perfectly good driver!”

“You swerved in front of a semi because you dropped your phone on the floor! That car ride took ten years off my life!”

“Shut the fuck up, you professional asswagons. I’d like to get going before it snows, too.”

Making their way out of the airport, Levi slipped his hand into Eren’s back pocket, smirking just slightly.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The car ride went by mostly uneventfully, Levi making vague remarks about Eren being dressed nicely and how he would’ve chosen better clothes if he knew that Eren was going to put forth any kind of effort.

Parking in the student lot, the couple waved goodbye to Hanji who had called a cab in advance, all three stepping into the deep snow to their respective destinations. Eren had decided that they should stop at the café on campus before heading back to his dorm room, if only to have an official date on their meeting day.

The trails between buildings hadn’t been salted in preparation for Christmas break, the school assuming that most students would be gone for at least two weeks. The snow, which had been falling in tiny flurries, clung to their eyelashes as they trekked through the knee-deep precipitation.

Skipping excitedly, knees lifted high like a show horse, Eren made it probably thirty feet before being called back.

“Would you get your ass back here? Not all of us are so vertically gifted. Also, it’s cold as mammoth shit out here and I just felt my dick recede into my body.”

“I could piggyback you, if you wanted. And we’re getting hot drinks, it won’t be so bad once we’re inside. And, well… I could always warm you up…”

“Let’s get our dumb fuckin’ eggnog lattes and head back to your dorm,” Levi said, before digging in his pocket and pulling out the box of cigarettes that resided there. Placing one between his lips and lighting the end, he cuddled closer to Eren and took a deep drag. “Tell me if this bothers you at all, alright?”

“No, no. You’re fine. How did you start smoking in the first place, though?” Eren questioned, threading his fingers through Levi’s gloved ones. Levi looked up towards him, and the brunette was struck with just how beautiful he was.

Tiny flurries were caught in long black eyelashes that framed gorgeous gray eyes, orbs bright with the sunset reflecting off the deep snow coating the landscape. His skin was amazingly smooth, porcelain paleness broken only by the deep circles surrounding his eyes and the red flush of cold across his nose and cheekbones. His ebony hair was perfectly parted, neatly trimmed in a military undercut, and it only served to exaggerate his thin features. All in all, Levi left Eren breathless.

“During my college years I needed something to help me de-stress, and alcohol wasn’t an option. You know how huge a bitch O-Chem is when you have a hangover? It’s like having to take a shit but not being able to, for about a week and a half. Don’t even bother drinking when you have class the next day, there’s only regret there.”

Walking into the café at long last, Eren sighed with bliss as his freezing extremities finally had some feeling return to them. He noted with some surprise that the person working the counter wasn’t a fellow student of his, but he realized rather quickly that anyone he usually saw would probably be home or on their way home right now.

He looked over just in time to see Levi shucking his black trench coat, leaving him in a pair of black jeans and a flattering dark gray argyle sweater. The thin slate-blue scarf wrapped around his neck was almost a thoughtless addition, grabbed at the last moment to help keep warm, but it still matched impeccably.

“It was easier to talk to you when you did more than just stare at me, you know.”

“I’m sorry, you’re just really nice to look at. Lemme snag those lattes, we can be out of here.”

“We can drink them in here, defrost for a few minutes before tempting frostbite again. Seriously, fuckwad, I live in California. I feel like I’ve been thrown in a flash-freezer.”

“Shit, I didn’t think of that. My dorm room is heated, but it’s not as warm as it could be… you can borrow a few sweatshirts or something? I don’t want you to be cold.”

“You’ll just have to share your body heat. No big deal.”

“What, are you a cuddler?”

“You’ll just have to find that out, won’t you. Go get us some damn lattes you asswipe.” The monotone command made Eren grin, and he jogged up to the counter to order their drinks.

While he was waiting, Eren turned to see Levi curled up in one of the seats, knees drawn up to his chest and arms crossed, glaring out the window at the ever-falling snow.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

They shuffled into the dorm, dragging Levi’s suitcases in and dumping them unceremoniously onto the floor. The duo had stopped back at the car for all the luggage, and getting the black-haired man’s possessions to the building without letting them get soaked by snow was quite an adventure. Now, breathing heavily and sweating lightly, Eren flopped face-down on his bed as Levi stood in the doorway, leaning against the hinges.

“So, what do you want to do?” Eren asked, rolling to face the man standing against the doorframe.

“You know the answer to that question is ‘you,’ fuckface.”

“Then get over here.” The ‘come hither’ voice had worked just fine over Skype in the past, but being able to watch Levi’s eyes narrow and darken in real time was enough to send his heart into overdrive.

Walking over to his bags, Levi dug around a produced a bottle of lube and condoms and set them on the side table, a sly smirk gracing his features as he slowly moved to straddle Eren’s hips. Leaning down to whisper into the brunette’s ear, Levi ensured that he was close enough for the movement of his lips to be felt.

“Now now, Eren, you and I both know that you like it better when I’m the one giving the orders.”

It was nothing that Eren had ever experienced, the sensation of being pinned flush against his mattress and hot breath against his ear making him shiver. Daringly, he turned his head to the side and placed an open-mouthed kiss to the side of Levi’s neck, wondering at the vibrations that travelled through his lips as the shorter man chuckled.

Gathering Eren’s wrists into one of his hands, Levi stretched the teal-eyed teen’s arms above his head and leaned down to press a gentle kiss against his lips, trailing down over his jaw to nip at the skin exposed above the collar of his button-down. Licking his way back up across Eren’s Adams apple, the grey-eyed man couldn’t help but grin when his lover’s throat bobbed harshly under the attention.

Trailing fingertips along Eren’s cheek, Levi tilted the teen’s face down to make eye contact, leaning back and fixing him with a serious stare.

“If at any point you want to stop, or are uncomfortable, just tell me. If I’m being too rough, you’re allowed to tell me to stop.”

“Actually… I expected you to be rougher…” Eren’s voice was hoarse, the effort of clearing the arousal from his tone too much for the moment.

The sudden manic gleam that came to Levi’s eyes was almost enough to make Eren regret his decision. The mouth roughly slotted over his however, tongue and teeth assaulting his lips as a hand found its way into his hair, were certainly not things to regret. Letting out a high whine at the sudden onslaught of sensation, Eren tugged at the hand restraining his wrists wanting nothing more than to wrap his arms around Levi’s shoulders and tug him closer.

Unable to drag his lover closer with his arms, Eren slung a leg around Levi’s waist, pulling their hips flush together. He couldn’t help the choked moan that clawed its way from his throat as his growing erection finally received some friction, and the answering hitch in Levi’s breath was more than enough of a reaction to have him rutting up towards that pleasure again.

Finally releasing his captive’s wrists, Levi latched his mouth onto the side of Eren’s neck and sucked, alternately dragging his teeth across the skin and licking as he tugged the brunette’s shirt up, excited to have more room to work.

Eren was just about to relish in his newfound freedom, but his hands were tangled in Levi’s short hair without his permission when the older male licked across his chest, stopping at a nipple to lick and bite, a hand coming up to rub and pinch at the other as he worked. Eren nearly keened, chest flushed and panting, his mind too far gone from just simple foreplay to even think.

Sitting back onto Eren’s hips and smirking when the student tried to grind upwards, Levi surveyed his handiwork. The brunette was struggling to breathe, eyes dark with lust and a light sheen of sweat settled across his collarbones. The hickey that he’d put under Eren’s jaw was darkening to a vicious purple, and his dick twitched in the tight confines of his jeans when he realized just how long that mark would last. Yes, most certainly, Eren was _his._

 _“_ Get rid of your pants, brat. I can’t wait much longer to fuck you.”

The younger male scrambled to cooperate, pulling at the button of his pants with frustration, eventually just tugging them down along with his boxers when buttons proved to be past his level of coordination. Meanwhile, Levi removed his own clothes, placing them neatly to the side.

“We’ll take this slower some other day. On your hands and knees, ass in the air.”

Grabbing the lube and condoms off the side table, the command was met with a whine of his name as Eren reached down to sneak a few strokes of his cock which was standing proudly at attention, already leaking against the teen’s abs.

“Please keep talking.”

Oh, what a request. It was certainly one that Levi couldn’t refuse, and as he uncapped the bottle of slick and poured it across his fingers, he let his voice drop into a lower octave, rough with sex and want but still deliciously smooth.

“I’m going to get you all opened up for me, Eren. Fingerfuck you until you can’t breathe and then finally get my cock in you, make your vision go white.”

With the promise of pleasure to come, Levi rubbed at Eren’s entrance, slipping a finger in easily enough and wriggling it around just to see Eren’s back curve at a satisfying angle as he moved back onto the digit, body begging for him.

“Oh, you’re so loose. Do you do this a lot, think of me and play with yourself? I hope you do, my little whore.”

A second finger went in nearly as easily as the first, and Levi scissored them, stretching and teasing the pliant muscles around them. Eren was moaning now, biting at his hand in attempts to stop the noises of delirium from escaping his mouth, but it wasn’t nearly enough to muffle them with just how loud he was being.

With three fingers in, Levi finally managed to prod the slight bump inside Eren that had him writhing and calling out a garbled attempt at his lover’s name. Looking each other right in the eye, Levi had the air ripped out of him in a broken groan.

Eren’s face was flushed, hair stuck to his temples with sweat, and his eyes, oh god his eyes. The turquoise pools that were normally so bright were nothing but rings around massive pits of black, pupils blown far enough that Levi wondered if he was high. Eren _looked_ like he’d been drugged, and the ecstasy written on the other’s face was like a suckerpunch of need to Levi’s gut.

Ripping open the condom with his teeth and rolling it over his aching dick, the black-haired man slicked himself up and pressed the head of his cock against Eren’s entrance.

“I want you to scream my name, shout yourself hoarse with nothing but pleads for more.”

With that, Levi slowly pushed in, using all his willpower to keep from slamming his hips forward into the velvet heat around him. Eren, either too gone from the pleasure already or simply masochistic, rolled his own hips back, forcing Levi in as far as he’d go.

“Please, please, fuck me, I need it.”

There was no way the grey-eyed man could ignore a plea like that, and he set a brutal pace. The dorm bed squeaked a protest in time with heavy breaths from the lovers, a litany of ‘please’s and ‘harder’s falling from Eren’s open lips; lips slick with drool and sweat.

Wrapping a hand around Eren’s cock, Levi angled his thrusts in efforts to deliver even more pleasure to the overwhelmed teen below him.

A loud moan of “Levi” was all he would get before Eren was coming into his hand, back arching at a ridiculous angle and muscles clenching around him. With every continued movement of Levi’s hips, the brunette let out another high pitched whine, seemingly unaware of the noises he was making.

Leaning forward, Levi left a trail of open mouthed kisses across Eren’s spine, movements finally stuttering to a halt as he reached his own peak, a soundless breath escaping his clenched teeth.

As soon as he had full control over his muscles, the black-haired man pulled out of his lover, tying the condom and tossing it into the wastebasket under the computer desk on the other side of the room.

“So, enjoy yourself?”

“Mhhhn….”

“That a yes?”

“Yeh. Yeah.”

“Good.”

“Levi?”

“Yes, Eren?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing this for you folks, so as always I hope you enjoyed. However, I was met with quite a few people bugging me about getting this updated quicker, today, and it distracted me from my writing. As much as I love you all, I'd much prefer you didn't pester me about update times.
> 
> I had schoolwork, college essays, and family that got in the way of me working, but I still got this out almost on time. I hope you all appreciate it, you lovely wonderful readers.


	17. Mini-Chap: Sleepless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships are not a cure for insomnia. Free time leads to thinking.

Levi turned to the body sleeping next to him with a slight frown. Eren, the little shit, had been asleep for almost three hours now leaving Levi with absolutely nothing to do. He’d been talking to Hanji, but after a “go play with your boyfriend, I have to write a report for the study I just did,” that option was taken from him as well. So now, with nothing else to do, the grey-eyed man sat next to his lover, gently carding his fingers through the soft brown hair at his fingertips.

“It’s my birthday now, you comatose prick. Why do you have to be asleep?” Levi whispered, now forced into talking to himself for lack of anything else to do.

“You know, you’re a really heavy sleeper. I could literally get out of this bed and just leave and you would never know. I could probably vacuum and you wouldn’t notice. I don’t even think you’d wake up if I decided I wanted to start a goddamn mariachi band in here.”

The teen lying curled into his side showed no signs of stirring, seeming even more soundly asleep if anything. Taking a moment to assess Eren’s features, Levi gave a small sigh of contentment. He was resting peacefully, long eyelashes brushing his cheeks, both set below eyebrows that were uncharacteristically relaxed, rather than defiantly lowered or raised in surprise. Lips parted just slightly, he breathed shallowly but easily.

“You’re pretty adorable, though. I’m surprised I put up with you before I knew what you looked like, but I’m pretty glad I did. Still, you must have at least a doctorate in douchebaggery to leave me awake alone like this. You had no problems talking all night when I was across the country.”

“I wonder if I’m influencing your dreams at all. When you finally open your eyes, tell me if you dreamt about constipation being a federal offense. I’m talking serious jail time, here.”

After a moment of deliberation, Levi extracted himself from the comforter wound around him and carefully got out of the bed. Before making his way over to his luggage to retrieve a pair of sweatpants and his cigarettes he tucked the blankets further around Eren, smiling slightly in response to the small pleased squeak he got in response to the action.

Slipping on the pants and tapping a cigarette out of the carton, the black-haired man wandered over to the window and cracked it a bit. Hopping up onto the sill, he lit the end of the thin white stick and took a deep inhale, being sure to lean towards the source of the cold draft before blowing the smoke out in a long plume. Slate eyes watched raptly as the thin gray lines made their way from his lips and the end of the cigarette towards the outside world, carried on a current of wind to a snowy dream so much unlike the warm comfort that he was sitting in.

“I hope there aren’t any rules against smoking in the dorms, because as much as I hate smoking inside I’m not going to put on a shirt and coat and socks and shoes just to get my nicotine fix. Besides, these walls are already stained with god knows what else.”

Sitting on that window sill, staring out at the snow that was still falling in tiny flurries, Levi reflected on how tiny, insignificant moments had affected his life. Two months ago, only eight weeks, just sixty days, and he had been an insomniac pro-gamer, nothing to live for but his nine-to-five and the occasional MLG tournament. A single night, an event that would’ve passed entirely unmarked on the calendar of his life, had changed everything. He was still an insomniac pro-gamer with a nine-to-five job pushing papers, but now he was a friend, a gaming-buddy, a lover to a bright spark of a life. Eren was dedicated and determined, a painfully honest and socially abrasive flame of a person, and he had taken Levi’s life and injected renewed enthusiasm into it. Not that he didn’t value his friends, without Erwin and Hanji he likely never would’ve made it as far as he had, but having someone to call his own was a new experience. It was something he’d found without knowing he needed, but now that he’d acquired it life without that certain purpose was unimaginable.

“I really love you, you know? I’m not going to say it that often; the more times you repeat something the less value it has, but I do. You tripped face-first down the fucking stairs of fate right into my life, and I almost resent you for it because of how much I need you now, but I can’t help but love your expert-level idiocy and your innocence, and everything you have that I don’t. Certainly are the better half of me.”

Stubbing out his mostly burnt out cigarette on the ledge and tossing it outside, Levi closed the window and returned to the bed, carefully settling in next to Eren and snuggling under the blankets. Without hesitation, the sleeping form next to him wriggled closer to his warmth.

It took quite a while, the sun was nearly coming up, but Levi did eventually nod off.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The grey-eyed male awoke to a hand running through his hair, trying its best to be gentle but still managing to catch on the soft strands. With a snort of displeasure, he opened his eyes to a face looking down at him, gently smiling.

“So, how’d you sleep?” Eren asked, the roughness in his voice indicating that he hadn’t woken up too long ago either.

“What time is it?”

“Oh, just about seven, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Levi thought back, remembering that he’d gone to bed when he saw the sun peek over the horizon. If it was seven, he couldn’t have slept for more than forty-five minutes.

“I slept great, thanks.”

The beaming grin he got in return was more than worth the weight dragging at his eyelids. Sure, Eren wasn’t a cure for insomnia, but it wouldn’t hurt having him think he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, again. I got Pokemon Y and I needed to beat it before I could even think about writing this chapter, which is not actually the chapter I meant to write. So, you guys get a mini-chap to hold you over until the next one. Hope it's fluffy enough to do that.
> 
> Also, I wanted to be as realistic with this as possible. Levi's insomnia is not going to be magically cured now that he has Eren sleeping next to him, sorry to any of you that were hoping for that. As someone who suffers from it, I get rather annoyed when it's tacked down to "a few nights of not much sleep" or as something curable via the power of love.


	18. Happy Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's past is revealed, as is the past of the necklace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank thingsishouldntbedoing for inspiration. This chapter is late as all fuck and I'm sorry, but I have a new laptop now so I shouldn't have this issue again.
> 
> Also, I'm working on a second fic with aforementioned person, called The Silk of a Soul. It's a lovely fantasy AU, and though it reads more like a novel than this one does it's still me, so go read it. [The Silk of a Soul](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1021219)

Eren leaned his chin on the top of Levi’s head, cuddling the shorter man to his chest as he tried to find the motivation to get out of bed. It had been nearly half an hour and the two had simply sat in relative silence, content with nothing more than having the other pressed against them.  
“So, what do you want for breakfast on your birthday?”  
  
“Something that hasn’t been dead and frozen for more than three months would be nice. Oh, don’t look at me like that, I saw the inside of your fridge.”  
  
“How did you- you can’t even see me.”  
  
“I know you well enough to know when you’re making stupid faces,” the black-haired man muttered as he laced his fingers between Eren’s, lifting the student’s hand to his lips to trail kisses across his knuckles and down to his wrist.  
  
With an appreciative hum, the brown-haired teen leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. _This is so nice. Can we just be together like this forever?_  
  
“Let’s go snag a shower and then we can get bagels or something at the cafe, how’s that sound?”  
  
“Depends, are we both taking a shower or are we _taking a shower_.”  
  
Levi turned his head and looked at him, a slight smirk on his face. A smug light glinted in his eyes- eyes that still had dark circles despite a ‘good night’s sleep,’ Eren noted- and he leaned up to whisper in his lover’s ear.  
  
“I’ll leave that up to you.”  
  
Rolling down the covers and extracting himself from Eren’s hold, Levi stood and stretched. He felt the brunette’s brilliant turquoise eyes boring into him, examining every plane of muscle and scar exposed by the bright daylight.  
  
“Leave any scratches last night? I can’t look at my own back. By the way, that hickey is looking absolutely lovely.”  
  
The teen blushed brightly, a hand moving to his neck to feel at the tender spot that must’ve been purpling given how sensitive it was. Shuffling to the edge of the bed to follow Levi to standing up, Eren let out a yelp as his back protested the movement.  
  
Levi examined him, grey eyes questioning, before letting out a small snort. Caught between sympathy and amusement he scooped Eren into his arms, carrying him bridal style.  
  
“Guess you figured out the hard way that ‘fucked so hard you can’t walk’ isn’t all that hard, hm?”  
  
“You were rougher than you thought you were if that qualified as ‘not that hard,’ dude. And let me get some pants on before you go whisking me off to the showers, they’re on the first floor and the hallways aren’t really heated.”  
  
Placing his lover back on his feet, Levi watched with no small sense of satisfaction as he turned to pull on a loose pair of jeans, revealing a line of reddened bite marks following the curve of his spine. _Maybe I was a little rougher than I thought._  
  
“As long as you enjoyed your first time I don’t really care. Let’s get a move on, I’d like to eat breakfast before the day is over.”  
  
“Are you hoping for some feedback? Because honestly I don’t think your ego needs to get any bigger.”  
  
Sidling up to Eren and looping an arm around his waist, Levi placed a chaste kiss to his shoulder. “You refusing to answer for fear of stroking my ego just tells me that it was pretty damn good.”  
  
“It was fantastic, okay? Shut the fuck up and get moving, I thought you wanted a shower.”  
  
“Just let me grab my towel and shampoo and shit like that real quick.”  
  
Walking out into the hall, the two were met with a blast of chilly air. Thoroughly motivated to get to the showers as quickly as possible, they shuffled down the halls and stairs at the fastest pace that Eren’s slight limp would allow.  
  
Arriving at their destination, Levi examined each of the stalls before settling on one that was acceptably clean.  
  
“Come on, then,” Levi prompted as he stripped himself of his pants, folding them neatly and placing them on the counter. Not modest in the least, he watched Eren’s eyes roam over his chiseled torso to pause on the scars decorating his pale skin.  
  
“I’ll explain those later, take your damn pants off.”  
  
Nodding and moving to comply, the student kicked his jeans off and left them in a heap on the floor. Stepping into the stall ahead of Levi, he adjusted the knobs until the water spraying out of the nozzle was an acceptable temperature.  
  
“Try not to nudge those, if you turn the cold water up at all it’s like being dropped into the arctic and if you touch the hot water you might as well be throwing yourself into Mount Doom.”  
  
“Noted. Next time you chuck your pants on the floor like that you’re not going to get them back, by the way,” he took the opportunity to scan over the brunette’s body, taking in the sharp jut of his hips that led to a softly rounded butt.  
  
Reaching over to the small shelf and retrieving his shampoo, Levi squirted a decent amount into his palm and stretched up to work it into Eren’s soft brown hair. Lathering it into a mass of bubbles, he tangled his fingers in the locks and pulled the teen down into a gentle kiss. Lazily moving their mouths together, he conveyed an apology for his earlier roughness through soft touches.  
  
Eren smiled when his lover pulled back, moving to wash Levi’s hair in much the same way while the grey-eyed man grabbed soap and a washcloth. With small circular motions he scrubbed at the tanned skin, occasionally massaging at muscles that seemed tense or sore.  
  
The cleaning was over soon enough, and the duo simply stood beneath the spray of water that was slowly cooling as the hot water ran out.  
  
“Let’s go get breakfast before we freeze our nuts off in here, hm?”  
  
“Yeah, that works for me. Come on.”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

“No. Eren, no, that is not symmetrical you can’t leave it like that.”  
  
“What? It’s the first night’s shelter, we can’t really do much with it. Do you even have enough wood to make it another block longer?”  
  
“I don’t, but you can’t leave it like that. Make it one block shorter if you have to.”  
  
“If we make it one shorter we won’t even be able to fit a crafting table, a furnace, and a full sized chest side-by-side.”  
  
“If you don’t make it one shorter I’m going to take my laptop and violently introduce it to your face. I put up with your horrible eating habits earlier, I’m not going to put up with you fucking up our Minecraft house.”  
  
“What’s wrong with the way I eat?”  
  
“You fucking talk while you’re shoving food down your gullet.”  
  
“Tell me one thing I said with my mouth full.”  
  
“When I told you to give me the damn knife so I could put butter on my bagel you said “I’ll butter _your_ bagel.”  
  
“Come on, that was funny.”  
  
“Shut the fuck up.”  
  
“Fine, fine. Can I give you your Birthmas present to make up for it?”  
  
“If it’ll make you feel better, fine. Go get it you shitbiscuit,” Levi sat back with a frown, only the amusement sparkling in his stormcloud eyes betraying his current good mood. As Eren shuffled through a collection of plastic bags, the professional gamer moved to his own luggage to retrieve a small black jewelry box tied with a red ribbon.  
  
When Eren turned back towards him with a wrapped box and a grin, Levi gave him a small smile in return and placed the gift to the side so he’d have his hands free.  
  
“It’s not much, I mean, I don’t have a billion dollars to spend but I figured you’d enjoy it.” The teen had a sheepish expression, the grin shrinking to a shy smile as he handed the package over.  
  
Carefully undoing the tape and lifting the corners of the wrapping, Levi slid the box out from under the paper and examined it. According to the outside, it contained a desk nametag engraved with “Fucker in charge of you fucking fucks.” Thinking of the look that Erwin would give him if he actually used the damn thing made him laugh, a deep sound that rumbled up from his throat and between his lips without his permission.  
  
“That’s good, damn. I like it a lot. Thanks, you little shit,” Still grinning, he leaned over and pecked Eren on the cheek. Reaching back to grab his own gift for Eren, he presented it without comment.  
  
Eren peered at it curiously, hoping to discover the contents of the gift without actually opening it. Finally accepting that he wouldn’t develop x-ray vision any time in the near future, he unwound the ribbon from around the box and opened the lid. Inside sat a wing made of sparkling silver inlaid with beautiful clear stones. Eren didn’t know if they were diamonds, but they certainly glittered like something precious. Holding it up on the chain, he recognised it as the white half of the survey corps guild flag, the same symbol that he owned on his favourite hoodie.  
  
“Did you order this just for me?” The teen seemed stunned, the gift not at all what he’d expected.  
  
“I… had it already, actually. There’s a story behind it that I’d like you hear.” He seemed hesitant, fumbling around in his bag for the other box in the set before starting his tale.  
  
“When I went to college, I was a military school brat who’d been disowned by his parents. I had no money, no reputation, one friend, and no way to get any kind of financial aid for my studies. Erwin offered to pay some of it, but I couldn’t make myself a burden to someone else like that, so… I looked for alternate means of acquiring some cash. Don’t you fucking look at me like that you ass I didn’t become a prostitute or anything.” Levi trailed off, steel eyes lost in another time as he fought his brain for the right words to say.  
  
“I lived on campus, which was safe enough, but all around it was a cesspool of a city. Crime was through the roof, gang violence was far from uncommon, and the police were corrupt enough that more often than not they were getting a cut of the profits. Being an egotistical bastard, I was so sure that I could wander on in and rule the streets, and that assumption is what put me one foot on the low road and one foot in my grave.”  
  
Eren stared at him, raptly watching his face as he told his tale. Levi gave him a look, wondering if the brat was too thick to understand what he was implying or if he truly didn’t care that his lover was a criminal.  
  
“I found the most powerful gang that I could and stepped right into their headquarters. Demanded to be included, demanded I be paid. They were amused with me, five foot three inches of self-assured sarcasm, and so they offered me a test. Bring them some codeine cough syrup from the school medical station, and they’d let me take a job that was actually worth something. They gave me this,” Levi rustled about beside him, opening the other box to reveal another silver wing, this time filled with dark smoky quartz and mirrored to the other, “as proof of my membership. Didn’t really mean much at the time, I was actually tempted to sell it.”  
  
The raven-haired man steeled himself, taking a deep breath and trying to keep the memories of his life from catching in his throat.  
  
“I started off stealing. Nothing big, some jewelry here, some medication there. I’ve always been pretty fit and light on my feet so I was never caught, and even if I was I found out that this necklace was sort of a ‘get out of jail free’ card, not even the police wanted to walk into the wasp’s nest that was the Sina Underground. Stealing turned into drug peddling, wandering back alleys and seducing strangers into getting hooked on crystal meth, cocaine, heroin, anything I could push into their pockets that would have them crawling back for more. I ended up in fights between us and the Titans, proved myself combat worthy and earned a place in the ranking officials of our little operation. You know what they called me? They called me Captain. I was their best, I could sell and steal and kill and anything else they needed…”  
  
“I never let it affect my studies, though. Four years was all it took and I could be out of college, I could step away from that life and just, just go. I didn’t want to be a gang leader, I didn’t want to spend my life in a fucking cell because I screwed something up and got caught. I saved up all my cash and was ready to follow Erwin straight to Trost to make a real life for myself. When I went to bid adieu to Shadis, the guy that was running everything, I told him I was leaving. He stepped up, said ‘I’ll let you leave, make sure crime doesn’t follow you. Or I’ll hand you the Sina Underground, make you leader. What’ll it be?’”  
  
He stared Eren straight in the eye, then, years of bloodshed and violence shining through his concrete eyes like a laser and eliciting a shudder from the teen.  
  
“That was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, Eren. I wanted a real life, one that I could write home about and shove it in my parents’ faces that I wasn’t a fuckup. But at the same time, I know I’m not right. I’m fucking broken in all the wrong places and this was a place that suited me, that wanted me. You know how hard it was, after everything I’d been through, to step away?”  
  
Clenching and unclenching his fists, he managed to choke out the rest of the story.  
  
“I said it.. I said I was leaving. Shadis, the damn bastard, smiled at me and pulled that necklace,” he motioned to the charm hanging around Eren’s neck, “out of his pocket and gave it to me. He clipped it together with the black one and said ‘Those are your wings of freedom. I know you, I know you’ll never come back to this life. Congratulations, Levi, today you truly are free.’ And… all those years, keeping those words to my heart, I never once believed them. Not until I met you. I’ve always wanted a place where I fit, somewhere I wasn’t an anomaly. And I found that place in some shitstain college student’s life, halfway across the world. Eren, you are my freedom. You’re my other wing, and so that’s why I’m giving this to you.”  
  
The half-tears, a gentle welling of moisture in turquoise eyes were worrying to Levi until he was tackled down against the mattress, a mouth roughly connected to his own.  
  
“I love you, Levi. So much, thank you for giving this to me. This was more than I’d ever dreamed of, you’re more than I ever thought I’d have. I’ll be your other half, for as long as you want me.”  
  
Further words were swallowed by an impatient pair of lips, grinning against Eren’s with the purest bliss Levi had ever experienced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi later used the necklace's pattern to make his guild's flag as a professional gamer, and that in turn became a pattern for sweatshirts and other gamer swag.
> 
> ALSO: if you read through while the damn thing still said "cactus table" instead of "crafting table," blame people who aren't me. Cough thingsishouldntbedoing cough.


	19. Browser Based Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets together on a skype call to play a browser based game. Levi is rude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so late. I've been having some problems with my health lately, and I just haven't had the motivation to write when I can barely see straight. I know this is a short chapter, but hopefully the next one will make up for it.
> 
> This chapter is all porn, yo. Just a heads up for those of you who like to read at work/school/in public.
> 
> Also, for those of you who follow everything I write and not just LO, chapter 3 of The Silk of a Soul is up! Read here: [Chapter 3](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1021219/chapters/2101163)

“Fuck, really? Why do my legs go flying like a lego dude’s whenever I get bitten in half?” Eren whined, angrily mashing his spacebar while the screen displayed a ‘Game Over!’ He and Levi were online with Armin, Hanji, and Erwin playing a browser-based game called Assault on Giants. In Eren’s case, it wasn’t so much ‘playing’ as ‘failing at so terribly that even Levi wouldn’t comment.’

 _“You’ve given me too much material to work with, it’s not even fun.”_ He’d said.

The student frowned as he watched blood fountain up from his dismembered character, a horse-ish looking male named John, while Levi whizzed by controlling a grumpy-looking man dubbed Dean. Armin was travelling along the rooftops controlling a blonde-haired soldier with the strange name ‘Herman.’

“Do you expect it to show you all the gory bits and pieces? I’m glad that we don’t explode into meat rain every time we get grabbed. I saw a cartoon like that, once,” Armin muttered. He obviously blamed the experience on Eren, who was the one who subjected him to most of the horror movies and surgical shows that haunted his memories.

“Ah, is there any chance you three could die soon? I was caught off guard,” Erwin frowned at the remnants of his avatar, a freckled brunette with the nametag ‘Polo.’

“I wonder what it would take to make real giants. I mean, something this big couldn’t function on normal food sources, and the mass would make it much too heavy to be bipedal…” Hanji muttered, slaying another of the wide-mouthed creatures.

“You’re looking too far into this, shitstain. Just fucking stay alive and help me kill the last four, hm?” Levi was surprisingly invested in the game, muscles tensing and twitching as he made lightning-fast movements, spinning through hordes of the deadly creatures. He was certainly the best gamer of the group, and it showed.

“Hey, Levi, three on your left. I’ll distract one of them for Hanji to get, can you take the other two?” Armin asked, swinging through the air on the hookshot gear. He didn’t have the best reaction times, but Armin made up for it with level-headed planning and cautious strategies.

“Of course I can.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“I’ll be right back. Well, actually, no I won’t, the walk from here to the bathroom is as long as my fucking flight was. Thanks for having a shitty ass dorm, Eren,” Levi muttered, setting his headphones on top of his computer before getting up and stretching. Rather than walking to the door, however, he approached Eren’s desk and held a finger to his lips in a ‘shh’ gesture.

‘What?’ The other gamer mouthed, confusion scrunching his brows together as his lover stalked towards him. Levi’s own grey eyes locked with turquoise ones, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips. He didn’t look away, even as he gracefully dropped to his knees and scooted under the desk.

It wasn’t until Levi put his hands on Eren’s knees, easing his thumbs up the seams of the brunette’s jeans to rest at his upper thighs and leaned his chin on the space at the edge of the chair that Eren’s eyes flashed with realization.

‘No. No no no,’ Eren mouthed, eyes wide with panic and pupils blown. He wildly gestured from the microphone resting in front of his mouth to the computer on the desk above Levi’s head.

“That a real ‘no’?” Levi murmured, nuzzling against the inside of Eren’s thigh and looking up with equal parts seriousness and mischief. The fingers that tangled in his hair and tugged him towards the interested tent at the front of the student’s jeans were more than enough to answer his question and he grinned lasciviously, tongue playing at the edge of his mouth.

Eren’s response was a low growl, tightening his fingers around the black locks and staring down at the man who seemed more intent on teasing him than anything else.

“You alright, Eren?” Armin’s voice piped up. The reminder that the other three could still hear him had the brunette tensing up, a current of _wrong_ and _filthy_ and _want_ coursing across his nerves. The twitch of interest certainly didn’t escape Levi’s notice, his eyes following the blush that was slowly trickling down Eren’s neck.

“Why do I suck so bad at this game?” He grumbled, passing off the prior sound as frustration.

“Because you have the coordination of an epileptic deer,” The blonde grinned, snickering lightly to himself.

“Have you been talking to Levi?” Hanji and Erwin said in stereo.

Said man suppressed a chuckle, pushing Eren’s shirt up and leaning forward to mouth at the skin above his jeans. Mentally praising whoever decided that “low cut jeans” should be a thing, he licked from the top of one exposed hipbone to the other, stopping to bite lightly just below the other’s navel.

Meanwhile, the student was trying his best to control his breathing, tilting his mic further away from his face so that he wouldn’t be panting directly into it. It was fortunate that he was pathetically bad at Assault on Giants anyway, because there was no way he could concentrate with Levi’s fingers slowly unbuttoning his pants and the teasing touches that fluttered across his hypersensitive skin.

Glancing down at the man between his knees, Eren had to bite his lip against a needy whine. Levi’s eyes were locked on his, intense even through their haze of possessive lust. Apparently waiting to have all of the brunette’s attention on him, Levi gripped the metal of his zipper between his teeth and pulled, quirking half a grin at the subtle shift in the teen’s hips.

Eren’s sigh of relief from being released from the denim confines of his jeans was cut short, breath hitching almost painfully as Levi mouthed up the underside of his cock through his boxers, stopping to place a kiss at the tip before pulling both Eren’s boxers and jeans down to mid-thigh. Entirely exposed, the brunette looked away as his blush darkened even further.

“Eren?” Hanji prompted with slight exasperation.

“Oh, what?” He responded, thankful that his voice didn’t shake. Not looking at Levi wasn’t the best idea in the world, as it caught him off guard when a slick tongue traced a line from the base of his length to the tip nearly making him moan right into the microphone. He covered it by clearing his throat, and he felt the huffs of air from Levi’s quiet chuckle on the inside of his thighs.

“We asked what you wanted to play next. You alright?” Armin asked, concern coloring his tone.

“I’m kinda tired, actually. Mind if I snag a nap? I’ll be on later,” Eren replied, trying to speak normally despite the teeth ever-so-lightly grazing the side of his dick. _The sooner I can get out of this call, the better._

“Oh, of course. Get out of here, get some sleep.”

As quickly as he could, Eren hit the ‘end call’ button, fingers sliding from the keyboard to tangle in Levi’s hair as he let a desperate whine slip past his lips.

“I thought you’d last longer than that, I’m almost disappointed,” Levi murmured against the base of his lover’s leaking cock.

“You know I’m loud,” Eren growled, tightening his grip in Levi’s hair and guiding his mouth to the tip of his dick. “Stop teasing me.”

The grey-eyed gamer looked shocked for a moment before the expression was replaced with a greedy sort of heat. Complying with Eren’s demands, he gripped the bottom half of his length before wrapping his lips around the head, licking into the slit and giving a hum of amusement as the student tried to rut deeper into his mouth.

With no reason to keep quiet, Eren groaned loudly, curling inwards and thrusting his hips into the pure pleasure wrapped around him. His eyes widened when he felt the tip of his cock hit the back of Levi’s throat, expecting some sort of retaliation to the action. Instead, however, he was rewarded with a moan, the vibrations travelling up his spine and startling a high pitched whine out of him.

He opened his eyes- when had he shut them?- and stared down at Levi once more. It was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. Levi’s eyes, usually steely and clear, were positively molten; the blown pupils shimmered under a film of tears, some of which were slowly leaking from the corners of his eyes and catching in his stupidly long lashes. A blush was sprayed across his cheekbones like an artist’s airbrushing, and the way his swollen and spit-slicked lips were stretched around-

Eren closed his eyes again, aware of the action this time, and tried to force himself back from the edge that he was so quickly approaching.

The next time he was able to look at his lover, those breathtaking eyes had a calculating spark to them. Grabbing at Eren’s hip, he pulled gently at it, not moving his head back as the brunette’s cock slid deeper down his throat. Repeating the action, he moved Eren’s free hand, which had been clutching desperately at the edge of the chair, to rest with the other on the back of his head.

“Wait, wait, you want me to…?”

The sensation that flooded through him with the hum of affirmation would have made his knees weak if he’d been standing. Gripping the soft hair in his fingers, Eren gave a shallow thrust forwards. With a growl from Levi, however, he rocked his hips more roughly, and stared in shock as his length disappeared down the professional gamer’s throat until his nose brushed against Eren’s pubes.

“Oh fuck. Fuck, Levi,” He whined, the noise breaking and jumping an octave when the other swallowed around him. His hips snapped forward, mechanically facefucking Levi without his permission. The man clawed at his hips, and Eren nearly stopped cold before he felt another low moan vibrate his entire being. The knot tightening in his stomach felt like it was on fire, and he tapped his fingers on the back of the other’s head to get his attention.

“I’m close, I’m not going to… can I, is it okay if…?” The teen couldn’t get a full sentence out past his hitching breaths and moans, but the increased suction around his cock was more than enough to let him know that Levi’d understood.

With only a few more sloppy thrusts, Eren finished down Levi’s throat with a wordless shout. The man pulled back, coughing a bit, but still managing to look unfairly smug for someone with drool and cum dripping from the side of his mouth. Swiping it up with his thumb and licking it clean, he went and flopped down on Eren’s bed, beside his laptop.

Putting his headphones back on, he leaned back against the wall, pulling the computer onto his lap before sliding the mic back in front of his mouth.

“Mm, I’m back,” he said, voice wrecked and gravelly.

“Hanji and Armin left a while ago, I’ve been told to stay here and tell you to never, ever do that again.”

“I dunno, we’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously, the game they're playing is the Attack on Titan browser based game. That can be found here: http://fenglee.com/game/aog/ and is all sorts of fun, especially as a group. 
> 
> So, who likes cockslutty rude little prick Levi? Raise your hands, everyone. I want a headcount.


	20. Hypothermia and Frostbite are not Challenges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As their days at the dorm come to a close, Eren and Levi are forced to battle winter weather on their way into the city. They lose, Denny's is involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is late, just like every other chapter ever and I'm really sorry about that. One day I'll stop just apologizing and actually manage to get a chapter up within a week and a half for once. Hope you all enjoy this, and the newest chapter of my collab fic, [The Silk of a Soul](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1021219/chapters/2166443)

Lounging on the windowsill, Levi went over his mental checklist again as he waited for Eren to finish packing. Because of the dorm’s three day visitor limit the black-haired man had booked a hotel room in the city for the remainder of his stay, and the pair planned to head out within the hour. Though when he’d first flown out he wasn’t entirely sure if Eren would accompany him into NYC, he had been sure to think of activities for them to do just in case.

_Packed everything, called a service to shovel the car out of the parking lot, called ahead to reserve a parking space at the hotel, helped Eren choose what to pack, charged the electronics…_

With a satisfied nod the gamer retrieved a cigarette out of the carton, placing it between his lips and lighting the end.

“Remind me to buy another pack of these next time we pass some sort of convenience store, would you?” He shook the box back and forth, listening to the two remaining cigarettes make a pathetic tapping sound.

“Yeah, I can do that. You only smoke once in a while unless you’re stressed though, have I been annoying…?” Eren stared up with large turquoise puppy-eyes, wondering if any of his habits had been grating on the man’s nerves without him noticing.

Levi rolled his eyes, taking a drag from the stick and exhaling before answering. “The pack was half empty when I touched down in New York, and I burnt through… four or five in the car with Hanji. I’m not a fan of travelling, especially during the holidays. Besides, if it were you I wouldn’t have invited you along to the hotel. Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. No reason to be a douche about it,” Eren muttered, slipping on a pair of gloves before pulling his winter jacket over the sweatshirt he was wearing. “I’m all packed up, you ready?”

Pushing the window open a bit more so he could toss the half-burnt cigarette into the snow, Levi hopped off the sill and shrugged on his own jacket. “Bring the pea coat with you, too, we might go someplace nice.”

“Will you tell me what we’re doing now, then?”

“No. Haven’t you ever heard of surprises?”

“Levi-” Eren began, whining.

“Don’t you ‘Levi’ me you piece of shit, I want it to be a surprise.”

“I’m just not patient. I waited a really long time for you to get here and now I’m waiting longer to figure out what we’re doing, it’s driving me crazy.”

“Then grab your bags and get out to the car, the sooner we get going the sooner we’ll be there. That makes sense to your tiny primal brain, doesn’t it?” Levi ruffled Eren’s hair on his way to grab his own bags, double checking that he had everything as he slipped the keys in his pocket.

The trip to the car was just as much of a quest as it had been the first time, if not more so. Attempting to get all their luggage to the safety of Hanji’s Challenger was a cold and miserable process, the knee-deep snow soaking into the duo’s jeans above their boots. By the time their bags were in the trunk, Eren was shivering as violently as he was complaining and Levi’s jaw was clenched against the chattering of his teeth.

“Global warming, they say, the ice caps are melting, they say. I’m going to mail the next person to mention global warming my amputated frostbitten testicles.”

“Well, they’re calling it climate change now…” Eren murmured, curling up and trying to make as much contact with the heated seat as he could. The glare he got in response was almost as chilly as it was outside, and he ducked his head so that most of his face was hidden by his scarf.

The first ten minutes or so of the drive was spent in relative silence, Eren sighing contentedly and shrugging off his coat as the engine warmed up and the air coming from the vents could actually be considered heat. Levi seemed at ease behind the wheel, occasionally humming a piece of a song distractedly before remembering he wasn’t alone.

With grey-blue eyes locked on the road ahead of them, Eren took the opportunity to study Levi in detail. He certainly wasn’t expressive, his thin eyebrows and lips that had a natural downward curve made him look perpetually annoyed. Even when he graced the teen with a smirk, amusement glinting in his heavy-lidded eyes, nothing in his face gave Eren an idea of what he was thinking beneath that. At the same time, though, he wasn’t cold or emotionless. When he was angry his eyes narrowed and the muscles in his jaw twitched, when he was upset his face hardened into forced expressionlessness. So many people say that ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul,’ but if Levi didn’t want you to know what he was feeling, his eyes were as clear as concrete.

“Stare a little harder, I might combust.”

“Oh, I…”

“Don’t tell me you thought you were being discreet.”

“You’re looking at the road, though,” Eren said, thoughts tumbling out of his mouth. He scratched at the back of his head, properly abashed, when Levi turned his gaze towards him for a moment.

“You don’t survive the kind of life I’ve had if you can’t tell when someone’s watching you. Besides,” Levi put a hand on Eren’s armrest, the resulting flinch making him raise an eyebrow at the brunette, “I never said I minded. Why’re you so twitchy?”

“Shit, sorry. I just go at everything full-speed and that doesn’t work with people a lot of the time and Armin said I should try to pay more attention to what other people feel and I worry that I’m going to fuck something up because I’ve never done this before and you mean a lot to me and dammit, I’m mad at myself I-”

“Take a breath before you hurt yourself. There’s no reason for you to be anything other than the obnoxious brat I’ve come to know and tolerate,” Levi assured, mouth quirking up on one side in a crooked grin.

“Tolerate? C’mon man, you love me, admit it,” Eren smiled, the uncharacteristic self-doubt fading.

“I just want you for your body, you should know that by now,” the gamer joked, tugging on Eren’s ear affectionately.

“And I fell for your sweet disposition and charming pickup lines. Seriously, ‘I hate you less than commuter traffic’? That one had me swooning in my seat.”

“I hope so. I put real time and effort into being as much of an asshole as possible.”

“Well it certainly paid off, I’m pretty sure you could be considered a professional,” the student flashed his pearly white teeth as he leaned back, reclining the seat so that it was almost horizontal. “This is a nice car, I’m surprised it doesn’t have mysterious sciencey substances in it.”

“Tch, the fact that you think this is a nice car is sad, really. I almost wish I’d driven up here instead of flying,” Levi grumbled. “And the only reason there’s nothing disgusting in here is because I paid to have it detailed before Hanji lent it to us.”

“Driven…? You ride a motorcycle, don’t you?”

“I guess I never told you about my cars, then. I have my bike, but I have a Mercedes and a Porsche, too. Both are nicer than this overpriced hunk of garbage. I rode a motorcycle when I was in college, when I became a ‘professional’ I wanted to distance myself from that a bit. Bought another one after a few years though.”

“Now you’ve got me wishing that you drove up here,” the brunette teased, not having any trouble picturing Levi in a sleek luxury car. “Hey, is it alright if I take a nap? It’s nice and warm in here and I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open.”

“I really don’t see what the difference between you staring at me in silence and sleeping in silence is, go ahead.”

“Mm, okay, wake me up if we stop somewhere.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“Fuck. Fuck me, seriously just bend me over and violate me with a large saguaro cactus. God damn it.”

Eren blearily opened his eyes, awoken by the sound of violent cursing and tires slipping in sleet.

“Hmm, wha?” Eren attempted to speak, tongue stuck drily to the roof of his mouth from his nap. As his brain processed the squeal of rubber, he sat bolt upright in his seat nearly knocking his head on the ceiling. His pounding heart slowed when he realized that they weren’t moving, and that he wasn’t about to face an untimely end.

“Major fucking highway and it looks like the arctic violently shit on it. Our exit is right there. I’m staring it straight in its ugly green face it is _right there_ ,”  Levi hissed, knuckles white on the steering wheel as he floored the gas once more. The car remained in place, the only result being another loud screech and a disappointing wiggle as the vehicle tried to fulfill Levi’s wishes and become magically un-stuck from the deep snow.

“‘Re we stuck? Is that what’s happening?” Eren blinked owlishly, eyes adjusting to the glare of streetlights reflecting off dirty snow. The clock in the dashboard read 8:47, and his stomach protested loudly that it was now time to get food. “How long have we been stuck?”

“Long enough to make melting us out of this drift with my piss seem like a viable option,” Levi deadpanned, forehead resting on the steering wheel and shoulders slumped in defeat. “I called a tow company about half an hour ago and they said it could take more than three hours, there’s apparently a whole lot of us unfortunate schmucks stuck in ass-fuck nowhere.” He lifted his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’m out of cigarettes, too.”

“Well, ass-fuck nowhere isn’t quite the right description for it. I can see the sign for a rest stop or something out that way. Looks like there’s a…. Denny’s! Shit, Levi, can we walk to Denny’s? That way we won’t use up all the fuel keeping the heat going and we can get some food, too.”

“Always thinking with your stomach, aren’t you? I’ll call the non-emergency police line so that they know this isn’t actually an abandoned vehicle, then we can get going. It’d be nice to get away from the source of frustration for a bit,” he agreed, pulling out his cell phone. “At least there’s still service.”

Eren shrugged his coat back on as he waited for Levi, who seemed relieved when he finally hit the ‘end call’ button.

“Normally they wouldn’t approve of us leaving the vehicle, but the fact that we’ve already called a tow truck and can actually see where we’re going from here made them a little happier to agree. Plus the fact that whoever was answering seemed happy to be dealing with someone who was sane. Let’s head out then,” He stated, pulling his own coat on once more.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly argue that you were sane, but hey whatever floats your boat,” the brunette teased, opening the door and shoving aside an impressive amount of snow. “Shit, how cold is it?”

“It is currently twelve degrees with a ten degree windchill, forty percent chance of the snow continuing to be an ass, and sixty percent dick shrinkage.”

“Can I volunteer you to the local weather station? I think they might actually get some viewers if the broadcast was like that,” Eren joked, looking out over the snow with distaste. The road looked like it hadn’t been treated at all, the snow nearly two feet deep in places. There were large tire tracks, likely from bigger trucks with four-wheel drive or all-terrain vehicles, and in the distance he spotted the headlights of a minivan that had suffered the same fate as they had.

“Let’s just get walking before I decide it’s not worth it.” Levi grunted, shoving his gloved hands in his pockets in attempt to keep them warm. The wind was bitingly cold even with the scarf wrapped around his neck and his hood up, and his nose and cheeks were bright red within minutes.

Eren seemed to forget that they were effectively stranded hours from both their destination and his college, bouncing excitedly at the prospect of food. He’d neglected to pull his hood up, and white flurries gathered in his messy hair. Turquoise eyes burned brightly above wind-bitten cheeks, and the grin that he shot Levi made it apparent that he thought of this as more of an adventure than an inconvenience. It seemed that not even the snow soaking into his dark jeans could quell his enthusiasm as he bounded along, slipping and falling to the ground with a yelp when he stepped on a patch of ice.

“You alright? I know you were dropped on your head as a child but we don’t really have time for you to get a concussion right now,” Levi said, the small crinkles at the corners of his eyes the only proof of the smile hidden behind his scarf as he helped the student back to his feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just wasn’t watching where I was stepping,” Eren laughed, brushing off the powder that was clinging to his clothes. “We’re almost there, at least.”

Levi hummed a vague agreement, taking the lead to avoid any further spills. He had just crossed the threshold of the Denny’s parking lot when Eren’s footsteps suddenly fell silent. Turning to see what had stopped the teen, he just barely moved in time to have the snowball that Eren had flung clip the edge of his shoulder instead of hitting him smack in the face.

“You wanna do this? Really?” He asked incredulously. The mischievous smirk that he got from his lover was enough of a confirmation to have him making a snowball of his own. Eren sprinted across the lot, odd hopping steps throwing up sprays of snow, and leaned down to acquire more ammunition. Concentrating on his task, he didn’t expect the precisely aimed sphere of regret that struck him at the junction of his neck and shoulder. The snowball melted upon contact with his skin, icy rivulets dripping under his coat and making him shiver.

Realizing his disadvantage from afar, Eren charged Levi- weapon in hand- and proceeded to chase him around the battlefield. Levi ran, exchanging fire with the snow-covered male for quite a while, but when his jeans and socks were soaked through and the tips of his nose and ears were numb, he decided enough was enough.

Leading Eren to the edge of the parking lot and crouching low, he waited until the teen was close enough before striking. Catching the brunette off-guard, he lifted him off the ground and tossed him into the deep snow bank behind them, jumping on top of him to pin him against the freezing drift.

“Do you admit defeat?” He growled, smirking down at his captured rival. Eren returned the smirk, leaning up to whisper in Levi’s ear.

“ _Never._ ”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The waitress in Denny’s was a young blonde in her mid twenties who stared at them with a mixture of shock and amusement when they finally wandered in, soaking wet and shivering.

“There’s a table right under the heating vent that you two can have, and if it’s alright I’ll take your coats and hang them close to the ovens so they’ll dry,” she smiled sweetly and Eren thought of Krista for a moment. This woman was older and taller, but she still radiated the same sort of genuine caring that the other student did.“The hand driers in the bathrooms aren’t all that great, but if you wanted to try to dry your pants, that might be the best way to do it. Do you know what you want to order?

“I’ll just take a coffee for now. Eren?”

“You have hot chocolate, right?” The waitress nodded and he smiled at her. “That’s what I’ll have, then. Thank you!”

The duo shrugged off their coats and handed them to the blonde at her prompting before walking uncomfortably to the men’s room.

“Nothing sucks more than wet denim. Industrial vacuums suck less than wet denim.” Levi looked around the bathroom with thinly veiled disgust, wondering just how to go about getting his pants dry. Eren, holding no grudges against public restrooms after living in a boys’ dorm for as long as he had, stepped out of his shoes and peeled his jeans off his legs.

“Damn, that feels good. I don’t think I’ve been this cold since I fell through the ice when Mikasa and I went skating in middle school,” he sighed in relief as he held the soaked pants under the hand dryer. “Aren’t you going to…?” He nodded towards the other machine, taking a moment to wring some of the water out of the fabric before turning the pockets inside-out.

“Yeah, yeah. Always quick to get my pants off, aren’t you?”

\--------------------------------------------------------------

The restaurant remained empty for the duration of their stay, the weather making it impossible for anyone not stranded nearby to make the trip there. Their waitress, Jessica, had brought them their hot drinks and taken their orders before busying herself cleaning the other tables. By the time the tow company had called Levi to say that they could move the car to a clear stretch of road, their clothes were almost entirely dry and they’d both eaten dinner.

Once they were on the road again, Levi plugged in his ipod and hummed along to a song that Eren didn’t recognise. It was slow and calming, and Eren found himself nodding off again. He could’ve been dreaming, but he swore he heard Levi begin singing along with the music as the song closed.

_“And I will see you again, I will see you again a long time from now.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, planning on picking up the pace of writing after finals are all over. Christmas break is rather promising, but don't take my word for it, I'm bad at not procrastinating. As always, I love comments/feedback/snacks, and this is entirely unbeta'd.
> 
> The song that Levi is singing at the end is "Hello, I'm in Delaware" by City and Colour.


	21. Coffee Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naptime? Check. Skating? Check. Coffee? ...? Coffee....?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm officially off my unofficial hiatus! I really needed that break, sorry to take it without giving you guys any sort of warning, but I'm back! Hoping you all enjoy this chapter, the first day of our dear Ereri's stay in New York City.

Levi pulled into the parking garage beneath the hotel, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his palm to combat the heaviness that tugged at them. _Staying up all night because you can’t sleep is one thing_ , he thought to himself, _but pulling an all nighter to drive through a wintry hell just sucks ass._  


“Eren.”  


The teen lay in the passenger side seat, one knee bent and resting on the dashboard while the other leg sprawled across the center console to rest on Levi’s own. His jacket was bundled up under his head in a messy pillow-esque shape that he had a hand tucked under, the other draped across his chest.  


All in all, Levi would think it adorable if not for the fact that he’d just driven a solid eight hours- a drive that shouldn’t have taken more than three- and was in desperate need of a nap.  


_“Eren.”_  


Levi leaned over to the passenger side, snapping his fingers impatiently in the brunette’s face and dodging the arm that was flung at him as Eren twitched awake.

  
“Hh?”  


“Oh, you’ve finally decided to join the world of the living? Congratulations, you’ve managed to sleep through half an hour of city traffic. Construction and honking and angry people on the sidewalks shouting more profanities than I’ve used in my lifetime.”  


“I don’t think that’s possible. Wait, so we’re there?”  


“I’m so glad that you can process simple English. Yes, we’re here. We’re here and I am checking us in, sending someone down to get the bags, and crashing for an hour and a half,” Levi grumbled, taking the key out of the ignition and opening the door. “You coming or what?”  


“Yeah, yeah, hold on a second.”  


Eren stepped out of the car, stumbling gracelessly and hissing out a litany of curses.  


“You alright?”  


“My entire leg is asleep and it feels like satanic kittens are clawing at the inside of my bloodstream.”  


Levi looked at him with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head. Making a ‘follow me’ motion, he started up the parking garage’s ramp and towards an elevator. Eren limped along behind him, making overdramatic noises of discomfort every time he had to step on his right foot until Levi decided he’d had quite enough of that and scooped the student into his arms.  


“Aren’t I heavy?” He inquired as he adjusted himself in the gamer’s grip. He felt the solid shape of Levi’s bicep against his knee and figured he already knew the answer, but he waited for one regardless.  


“You’re about as heavy as you are quiet,” Levi said, nuzzling his nose into the hair at Eren’s temple as he raised a leg to press the elevator button with the toe of his shoe. “Hell if I’d want to touch that with bare hands, anyway,” he mumbled to himself. Eren laughed at the look of distaste his lover was sending the illuminated circle, leaning his head against Levi’s chest and listening to the steady heartbeat beneath his ear.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------  


Levi, as it turned out, was beyond cuddly when he fell asleep first. Once the travellers had checked in- a blissfully short process due to how frequently Levi stayed at the hotel for conventions, tournaments, and business meetings- they rode the elevator up to their floor. Eren had stared in awe at the polished marble and gorgeous fountains dotting the lobby, and the room that they were staying in nearly had his jaw on the floor. The furnishing was beautifully modern, stainless steels and chromes and soft black leather accented by the snowy city view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. The student was about to explore the kitchenette to see if it had come pre-stocked with food, but Levi called him into the bedroom.  


“I’m going to sleep for an hour or two, you’re welcome to either join me or do whatever, there’s a desktop in the other room,” he said, taking off his pants and folding them neatly before sliding under the comfortable looking blankets. He didn’t wait to see if Eren would join him, curling onto his side and pulling up the blankets far enough that they blocked out most of the light.  


Although he had slept in the car, Eren found the rest that he’d gotten in the passenger seat of Hanji’s car hadn’t refreshed him in the least. He shucked his shirt and pants, tossing them to the floor and moving to lay beside his lover.  


And so Eren had nodded off, waking up sometime later to find that he had become trapped in an impossible tangle of strong limbs and blankets. Levi’s nose was resting under his chin, mouth pressed against the side of his neck and arms wound around his torso. One leg was slung over his waist, the other threading itself between his own; all in all, the aggressive cuddling had him effectively trapped until Levi awoke.  


Eren lifted his free hand to shift the hair out of his face with a passing thought of  _when did it get so long?_  and nearly squeaked with surprise when he was met with a flurry of motion. His brain didn’t quite realize what had happened as he was pinned down, cold eyes boring into his and making his muscles clench in fear. He gasped for air, thinking the difficulty he had in drawing a breath was the shock until his nerves finally registered the forearm pressed under his jaw.  


A gaze like needles locked into turquoise irises, snapping from primal killer instinct to apologetic worry in an instant that was similar the breaking of a bone; it was quick and intense, a shift that left both parties reeling.  


“Shit, shit, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Levi rolled over to the side, holding his hands in the air as if someone had a gun pointed at him, the lines between his eyebrows etched with guilt. Eren sat up, shaking his head to clear the hair from his face and to organize his thoughts.  


“No, I’m fine, you just surprised me. I guess I surprised you too?” The brunette grinned a bit shakily, sitting up to extend a hand towards Levi. He hadn’t experienced anything like this during the first few days of sleeping in the same bed as the gamer, and he wondered what triggered the violent response.  


“Don’t play it off like nothing happened, you shitty brat,” Levi huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Eren shuffled in closer, concerned. It had been quite a while since any insult of Levi’s had been so simplistic, and a frown tugged at his mouth.  


“Nothing  _did_  happen, Levi. You didn’t hurt me, and even if you had you wouldn’t have meant to. What’s the big deal?” Finally he reached out, stroking the side of Levi’s face despite the other’s flinch and pulling him forwards into a chaste kiss.  


“You really don’t think anything is wrong with the fact that I almost hurt you just because I got startled when you woke me up, do you?” The black hair man murmured, pulling away but remaining close to Eren.  


“Nope. You just spent all night driving, then you finally crash for a while, I don’t blame you for not knowing where you were at first. And considering your past it makes sense that you’d defend yourself.” The student’s chest puffed with pride at the deductions he’d made. He knew he wasn’t as smart as Armin was, not many people were after all, but the shudder that went through his lover as the other man relaxed once more provided a satisfying feeling, as if he’d just been provided proof of how well he knew the other.  


“Let’s get dressed and head back out. We’re going ice skating at Rockefeller today, and then heading out to some overly expensive coffee shop. Because I say so, of course,” Levi smiled then, a gentle small ghost of a thing that just barely reached his eyes. It gave his usually sharp features a soft touch, and Eren was suddenly glad that he was there, in that moment, with the most beautifully important person in his life.  


_How did I get someone as wonderful as you?_

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

“This rink is small as fuck,” Levi said, glaring at the multitude of people currently filling the area. “I thought for something as popular as it is it would be more like a professional rink and less like a frozen puddle of overpriced piss.”  


“It’s bigger than the pond Mikasa, Armin and I go skating on,” Eren defended. He was grinning despite the cold, cheeks red above the pale blue of his scarf. His gloved fingers struggled with the worn laces of the rental skates and he made a noise of frustration, gaining Levi’s attention. The older man moved to kneel in front of him, tightening the skates with little issue and giving Eren a smug look as he stood once more, offering the other a hand up.  


“Where are the other two stooges, anyway? I know Blondie has family but what about your sister?”  


“She went with Armin this year. Usually she stays with me, but with the uh… recent developments, as it were, things have been kinda weird between us. Not in a bad way, I don’t think, but I was actually able to convince her to leave so something’s up. You’ll get to meet her for real if you come back to campus before you fly back west, though.”  


“That doesn’t seem like her, she was overprotective as all hell on Thanksgiving and I wasn’t even close enough to touch you then,” a crease appeared between Levi’s eyebrows as he spoke, walking towards the ice with a surprising amount of grace considering the thin blades he was balanced on.  


“I really don’t know what’s going on. Either she put a tracker on me, she’s trusting me with this, or she has something else planned. I’m happy to leave it as it is though, it’s nice to be off the leash.”  


“Let’s hope she’s not planning to assassinate me. C’mon, the weather isn’t getting any nicer and I’d prefer not to be out and about when Satan’s dandruff gets dropped on us again.”  


Levi stepped onto the ice first, turning to face the entrance and gliding backwards effortlessly as he waited for Eren. The brunette followed him with less self-assuredness, clinging to the railing on his right with one hand and holding the other out for balance.  


“You look like you’ve never been skating before. I’m just waiting for you to pull a Bambi here and just,” the black-haired man made a separating gesture with his hands, “fwoomp.”  


“Oh, suck my dick. I’m better than I was before, and I’m self taught. Not all of us can be magical parkour-running, motorcycle-riding, gold-shitting leprechauns.” Eren rolled his eyes, huffing out a cloud of fog and shuffling forwards.  
  


“I already did that. I thought I made it memorable, but I guess we could always try again,” Levi’s smirk grew as he turned around, skating to hover behind Eren. Placing his hands lightly on the teen’s waist, Levi chuckled before saying, “Try to stay on your feet, I might run you over if you don’t.”  
  


“Try to wh- whoa, fuck!” Eren exclaimed, struggling to hold his balance as the gamer pushed off and steered him between the other skaters. A mother covered her son’s ears, sending Eren a glare that he entirely missed in his panic. He struggled against the wobbling of his skates, leaning back into the strong hands at his waist to keep him steady as they wove through the crowd. The official on duty seemed to be debating whether to blow his whistle or not, but seeing as the pair wasn’t actually breaking any rules he simply shrugged and leaned back against the railing.  
  


“You know, I can’t see where I’m going over your tall-ass shoulders,” Levi said. He felt the muscles of Eren’s back tense even further at his words, though they quickly relaxed again as he successfully maneuvered between bystanders.  
  


“Why aren’t you crashing into anyone, then?”  
  


“Never said I couldn’t see around you.”  
  


“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Eren grabbed the wall, jerking both of them to a halt.  
  


“It’s been said,” Levi replied, leaning against the teen. “It’s true, too. Accepting that gives me an excuse to continue as I am instead of trying to do that whole good person thing that everyone keeps going on about,” he turned to face Eren again, ready to skate backwards and pull the brunette along. The teen, however, had different plans and reached up his left hand with the intent of bringing Levi’s face towards his for a kiss.  
  


The amused and affectionate expression turned to one of confusion as Levi recoiled in disgust, backing away without his passenger. He seemed to notice then the pitiful look that Eren was giving him, and stepped back towards him.  
  


“Do you know what that’s touched?” He asked, pointing at Eren’s gloved hand.  
  


“Yeah, but… what? I haven’t even touched the railing with this hand. What’s the problem?”  
  


“It’s touched _New York_ , douchecanoe. Don’t.” The horrified grimace that possessed his features startled a laugh out of the student and he closed the distance between them with a shuffle of his skates. Hugging the shorter man and bumping their foreheads together, Eren touched the tip of his nose to Levi’s before skating off, waving a ‘come on’ gesture as he made his way around the small rink.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

 

They’d been yelled at multiple times by the official on duty for their impromptu games of tag, Levi’s need to show off by skating loops- both forwards and backwards- around some of the slower strangers, and the occasional scratch spin that left Eren gawking at the other’s apparent figure skating skills. They were also yelled at by parents and the occasional overprotective sibling for their affectionately crass language, but those instances only seemed to amuse Levi who tossed a middle finger at one particularly grouchy woman.  
  


“They’re going to hear it at some point, may as well start ‘em early,” he justified as he was removing his skates, slipping his snow boots back on before returning the rentals to the counter. “Time for that overpriced coffee, hm? There’s a little hole in the wall that I usually stop at when I’m in the city,” He looked thoughtful for a moment, “I hope it’s still there. It’d suck if it wasn’t.”  
  


“Didn’t really peg you for the ‘small business supporter’ type. What’s it called?” Eren asked as he rolled his ankles to try to ease some of the stiffness that had settled in them. He rose to his feet, tottering on sore legs to return his own skates before settling next to Levi and leaning heavily on the shorter man. Levi slowly began walking away after Eren wrapped his arms around his neck, scowling just slightly at his volunteer scarf. Eren continued putting his weight on his now-moving support, slowly sliding down with a quiet ‘noooo’ to hang around the gamer’s waist before standing on his own two feet when his knees touched the ground.  
  


“It’s a Small World Coffee Shop. Not sure if they took off the ‘it’s a’ at any point, kinda a mouthful. And I’m not a small-business supporter, I buy things I like and I enjoy their hot apple cider and lattes. None of that gross-ass super healthy soy-skim milk and fiber whatever the hell it is though. Leave my damn caffeine alone, it never did anything to you,” Levi said, wrinkling his nose with distaste as he walked towards the street. “So, taxi or taxi?”  
  


“Oh, that’s too many options, let’s just take a cab,” Eren grinned, stuffing his hands in his pockets.  
  


“Don’t you fucking sass me, shitstick. I’ll make you walk, don’t think I won’t,” Levi threatened, face serious. He watched the brunette’s face fall, turquoise eyes dimming from sparkling mirth to confusion. With a snort the older male reached up to ruffle Eren’s hair, giving him a half-grin. “Geez, kidding. Because I’d really make you walk when you don’t even know where you’re going. Plus, pretty face like yours, someone might try to steal you.”  
  


Eren swatted the offending hand away, scarlet flooding the few parts of his face that hadn’t been reddened by the cold. “You looked really serious about that. Usually I can tell when you’re joking with me,” he defended. “Besides, I’m not pretty.  _You’re_  pretty, I just look like a normal guy.”  
  


“I have to make sure my pokerface doesn’t slip from all these expressions that keep attacking me. I can’t let the office monkeys know that their antics actually amuse me. Well… some of them. I wanted to commit mass-murder after that god forsaken office warfare episode. That shit only happens in the movies, I- there was orange juice in the ficus, Eren.”  
  


“I still think you should’ve taken pictures to put on the internet. That’d make a great story, put it on some site where a lot of people would see it, maybe you’d be a famous comedian,” the teen said, opening the door to the cab that had stopped for them. Motioning for Levi to enter first, he sat beside him before loosening his scarf.  
  


“Yeah, because people actually want to know about my everyday life. I’ll become a blogger, talk about the consistency and color of my most recent shit. It’ll be absolutely riveting,” he rolled his eyes before looking at the driver. “943 Second avenue.”  
  


“Hey, you’re pretty famous already, I’m sure there’s some fucked up individual who would totally read every post. You’d get anonymous hate, ‘I hope you get constipated,’” Eren snickered at the vaguely displeased look he earned from the driver before leaning over to cuddle against Levi’s side.  
  


Levi just let out a ‘tch,’ wrapping an arm around Eren to draw him closer as the cab idled in city traffic. Waiting for the teen to look up at him Levi placed a kiss on the crown of Eren’s head, pressing his nose into soft brown locks that were faintly damp from the snow flurries that had settled in them over the course of their ice skating adventure. When Eren lifted his head, the grey-eyed man claimed his lips, nipping at them when an overeager tongue slipped out to lap at his own.  
  


Small touches and chaste kisses were exchanged until the taxi arrived at their destination. Eren’s eyes sparkled with happiness, nuzzling up under Levi’s chin as the man dug through his wallet for their cab fare. The driver took the money with a small tip of his hat, and the duo left the vehicle to stand outside a small coffee shop. The outside was painted an olive green, a nice complement to the cozy interior made up of mostly polished oak woods and burgundy upholstery. The sign was bright white with a red sun logo, thick black letters announcing that it was indeed the Small World Coffee building.  
  


Levi led them in, taking a place in the surprisingly long line before cuddling up to Eren once more.  
  


“I’d suggest pretty much anything on the menu that you can pronounce, it’s all good. If they still have hot apple cider this late in the year that’s what I’m getting.” Levi smiled softly when the student rested his hands on his waist, pulling him closer to rest his chin on the top of his head.  
  


After arriving at the counter, Levi sighed when the famed cider wasn’t on the menu. He ordered a french vanilla latte, and after some deliberation Eren ordered a caramel white-chocolate latte. Refusing to let the older man pay for the drinks, Eren shooed him away-  _go find a table or something_ \- and pulled out his own wallet.  
  


“Get a table your damn self, I’m gonna find the bathroom,” Levi dismissed, wandering to the back portion of the cafe and disappearing out of sight.  
  


“It’ll be a couple minutes for your drinks, the latte machine’s been running a little slow,” the girl behind the counter gave him an apologetic smile. “What’s your name? You can save a table and I’ll call you up.”  
  


“Oh, I’m Eren,” the brunette answered, handing over a ten. The barista wished him a good day as she handed back his change, and he turned to claim a table as a rough hand grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the shop.  
  


“What the fuck, don’t touch me,” he snarled, yanking his arm away from the stranger. The man was heavily built, greasy black hair sticking out in snarls from under his cap. His eyes were deep-set and beady over his windburned cheeks, and it gave him a look much like that of a stray dog- feral and dangerous.  
  


“Ya didn’t seem to have a problem with guys touching you before, what’s the problem now faggot?” He advanced with slow steps, herding Eren away from the storefront and towards a side alley. “You’re disgusting, stay away from the places I eat. I don’t want to catch anything.” The man mocked.  
  


Feeling his blood start to boil, Eren’s eyes narrowed to furious slits and his fists clenched. Grinding his teeth he kept silent, this troglodyte didn’t deserve any of his words. Letting the man continue leading him backwards, the student released a snarl of anger when the bigot’s words moved from mocking him to insulting Levi, calling him a ‘ _pretty boy dickwarmer_.’  
  


When Eren was backed nearly against the wall, he fell into a defensive stance. His assailant lunged at him, moving to pin the smaller male against the bricks and reaching an arm back to deliver a punch. Sliding a foot between the other’s, Eren used the man’s weight against him and spun them so that his attacker was the one trapped between the wall and kneed him hard in the stomach, grinning with sadistic satisfaction when the other doubled over with a weak noise of pain. Pulling him back up by the collar of his shirt Eren punched him in the face, ignoring the crunch of cartilage under his knuckles when he struck his assailant’s nose.  
  


Levi rounded the corner at a sprint, eyes cold and dangerous as he took in the situation. Gently shoving Eren back he examined the combatants, happy to see that his lover was entirely unharmed. The man on the ground, on the other hand, had blood dripping from his nose which was already swelling, dark bruising spreading out under his eyes and on his jaw. Walking up to the man, he tugged him back to his feet with one hand on his neck and one under his arm. When he’d regained his balance, Levi grabbed his wrists and tightened his grip until he could feel the bones shift under his fingers and the man whimpered.  
  


Leaning forward, he whispered calmly and coolly, “I know what you look like now, you piece of shit. I also know a lot of people, in a lot of places, and if I ever hear that you’ve pulled something like this again, you won’t fucking live to see tomorrow. Have I made myself clear?”  
  


Eren’s attacker was hyperventilating now, and the smell of fear was pungent in the alley. He nodded frantically, trying to wrench his wrists free before he realized that the action only led to more pain.  
  


“Good. Don’t let me see you again, I’ll put you down like the animal you are,” Levi’s facade finally broke, lips curling up in a vicious snarl that made  _him_  seem so much more the animal. When he released his grip the man scrambled to get away from him, taking off further into the alley before turning and running down the street.  
  


“He didn’t even get a hit off on you, did he?” Levi’s demeanor instantly changed as he approached Eren, anger being replaced with concern and calculation.  
  


“No, I had it handled. You really didn’t need to intervene, I’m a good fighter,” Eren complained, inspecting his knuckles where they were smeared with blood. He moved to wipe them on his jacket before reconsidering and just leaving his hands hanging at his sides.  
  


“I know you’re a good fighter, you’ve told me all about your scraps with the horse-faced kid and whoever else at the gym because there’s a boxing ring, whatever. This is a city street, Eren. You didn’t fucking know if he was armed and, I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter if you’re goddamn Bruce Lee, if your opponent has a gun you lose. Get in fights on campus, go wild, I trust you can hold your own. But when it’s someone that genuinely might want to kill you? Do me a favor and keep your damn balls out of the garbage disposal, there’s no reason to tempt fate.”  
  


“Fine, fine. Just… Let’s go get our drinks and I’ll wash up my hands. You’re damn scary when you want to be, by the way. I thought you were actually going to kill him.”  
  


“If he’d hurt you I might’ve. We’ve got a good thing, I don’t want a thug ruining it.”  
  


“Not a thug, you were right. More like a rabid animal pretending to be a human,” Eren trailed off, seeming to come to some realization. “Overpriced coffees then back to the hotel for a hot shower. I’m sure you’d like some actual sleep for once, too.”  
  


“That doesn’t sound awful, let’s get right on that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small World Coffee shop is a real shop, though it's in Princeton NJ, not NYC. The address given there is a Starbucks... close enough. I'm going to try to take breaks of 2 or so weeks between chapters, just so I can handle all the school work I've had and not run myself into the ground.


	22. Sincerest Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Details of LO and what is to become of it.  
> This is not an update to the story. I'm very sorry to excite those of you who will get an email saying that there is another chapter, because this is not.

As you all know, this fic has not been updated in a number of months. At some point during that gap, it was marked as complete, much to the confusion of many of you. Here is the most official news I can give: it has been dropped. It is probably never going to be updated again. I did at one point have plans for a few more chapters just to wrap it up, but as of this moment that is an impossibility. 

I'm very sorry to all of you who have enjoyed this fic and desperately want it to continue. As much as I would love to give you the content, I have a quality policy that I am strictly sticking to.

I have no motivation to write at this point. I've drifted from the fandom and I don't feel any of the passion that I used to have when I sat down to crank out a chapter. I don't want Log On to become like so many other stories that were continued for the sake of being continued. I would rather have it end here, with everyone enjoying what does exist, than continue it until the quality is so sub-par that nobody cares anymore. 

I recognize that many of you will probably be angry with the late notice, with the fact that the first update in however long is more of a Dear John letter than what you wanted. You have every right to be upset, especially after being dedicated for so long, but I would prefer that I didn't receive any more death threats for the discontinuation of the story.

I hope that everyone continues to enjoy what's there. I hope that you are understanding with me and my reasons to discontinue it. It's possible that one day I may decide to pick up writing again, when inspiration strikes and I have the time. I wish all of you the best.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for the fandom, so if anyone finds any huge glaring errors, please tell me. Comments are appreciated, enjoy!
> 
> Also note: This fic is entirely unbeta'd. If you see any spelling, grammar, etc. mistakes, please tell me!


End file.
